Darkened Skies: Side Stories
by CitrusChickadee
Summary: What was happening "off screen" during PMD2? Contains scenes from the Wigglytuff Guild, the dark future, and many more. No particular order.
1. Grimy Food

**Author's Note:** This is a companion story to my other PMD2 fanfic, Darkened Skies. You don't necessarily _need_ to read both of them to understand the other, though there are a few places where it may help. At any rate, this is mostly going to be a bunch of short stuff that wouldn't fit into the main fic for whatever reason.

First up: How do the desert Pokémon survive when all they have to eat is Grimy Food? Why, convenient acquired immunity, of course!

* * *

**Grimy Food**

"I'm so hungry…"

Iris the Cacnea groaned as her stomach growled. Team Shadow had gotten pretty far in Quicksand Cave, and they were running low on supplies—including food.

Claire, the human-turned-Meowth leading the team, sighed and dug through her treasure bag. She had two apples, one gummi, and a handful of Plain Seeds she'd forgotten to throw away. Hesitantly, she pulled out an apple and tossed it to her teammate. Iris cheered as she caught the apple, devouring it immediately.

"How much food do we have left, Claire?"

Felix, her Chimchar partner, looked worried. He'd eaten the last gummi out of his own bag a few floors ago. Clearly, he was anxious about relying on the desert's typical, barely-edible fares.

"Not much, but I think we'll be okay," Claire replied, checking her Wonder Map. "We've only got a few floors left!"

"Has anyone seen Rin, by the way?" Iris suddenly asked.

Claire shoved her map back into her bag as she looked around. The Cubone in question was nowhere in sight. While she was more than capable of taking care of herself, it was unlike her to wander off like that…

Fortunately, Rin entered the room a few seconds later, coming through the hallway the team had just exited. _Un_fortunately, the large pile of food she was holding looked rather unappetizing. She had an assortment mainly consisting of wrinkled berries, dried-up seeds, and a few squished gummis; however, she even had what looked like a moldy apple core.

"I found some food," she offered.

"Oh, good!" Iris said brightly. "I can't believe I forgot about that."

Felix's eyes widened as he rapidly shook his head. Although Claire shared his sentiments, she couldn't help giggling at his expression. Rin, on the other hand, raised an eyebrow at his reaction.

"We did grow up in the Northern Desert, you know," she commented. "We're used to it."

"I'll take one or two of the berries." Iris nodded; Claire wasn't sure if she'd missed Felix's expression or if she just didn't care. "_They_ can stick to their _'normal'_ food if they want."

Rin shrugged and silently ate one of the dried seeds, and then she tossed one of the wilted berries to Iris. Claire shook her head, watching the two for a moment before beckoning to everyone.

"Come on, guys! We have to get to the Time Gear before Grovyle does."

With that, the team formed a line and walked through the next hallway. Despite the mission at hand, Claire kept watching as Rin and Iris ate some more of their food. She couldn't help laughing when Felix cringed, even though she knew they had to focus.

Well, at least they had a use for all that grimy food, even if _she_ didn't like it.


	2. Names

**Author's Note:** The great thing about being a writer is that if you give one of your characters a really weird name, you can just blame it on their in-universe parents and pass off responsibility. Logic! There is a tiny bit of development for Felix and Iris in here between all the silliness, though, so that's a thing.

* * *

**Names**

"You know, Heliona, there's something I've been wondering," Claire said as she sat down.

"What is it?"

The Vulpix blinked at the question. Team Shadow had just entered her room at the guild, and Claire waited for everyone to get settled before going on. (They normally met up in Bidoof's room, but he claimed he'd wanted to get to bed early that night; Loudred's snoring would keep him up way too late otherwise.)

"It's, well…it's about your name." Claire grinned sheepishly. "How did you get it? It's just a little…_uncommon_, is all."

"Well, you see, there's a very interesting story behind that!" Heliona replied brightly. "My parents couldn't decide between 'Helios' and 'Luna,' so they just put them together and made 'Heliona'!"

"W-what?" Felix stared at her before going on. "Are you serious? And I thought _my_ parents were weird with names…"

Leon, Heliona's Shinx teammate, awkwardly glanced over at her. "Well…Heliona's parents are kind of…_quirky_ in general. I always thought Ninetales were these serious, elegant Pokémon, but… Let's just say that when you meet them, a lot is explained about Heliona."

"Yep! My parents and I are a lot alike!" Heliona agreed.

She seemed unaware of the fact that Leon had been worried about whether or not that would sound insulting. Her other teammate—an Absol named Sydney—sighed and shook his head.

"Yes, Tulip is the 'oddball' in her family," he groaned. "And that's by virtue of…not being very odd."

"Tulip?" Iris repeated, blinking. "That seems like a weird name for a Fire-Type. She…_is_ a Vulpix like you, right?"

Heliona shook her head. "Nope—she's a Ninetales now, too! But, yeah, she's still a Fire-Type. I think it makes her sound unique!"

The room went silent as Team Shadow tried to process all of that. Well, if Sydney and Leon were right, that _did_ explain a lot about Heliona. She _was_ rather quirky, even if it was usually entertaining. Eventually, Claire turned back to Felix, remembering something he'd said earlier.

"What did you mean about your parents being weird with names?"

Felix blinked. "Oh, well, I guess it's not _that_ strange in comparison, but…they gave me and my siblings names that all start with the same letter."

Rin shrugged. "Yeah, that doesn't sound too weird…"

"Well, it wouldn't be if there weren't six of us." Felix sighed. "They _really_ got committed to that theme. Apart from me, there's Fabian, Foster, Fletcher, Fred, and Felicia."

"Okay, yeah, I guess that's a _little_ weird." Iris laughed. "I mean, my parents _did_ me a 'floral' name, but the rest of my siblings have more normal ones; they're Barrett, Alexis, and Elliot."

Sydney raised a brow. "Your parents sound like sensible Pokémon. How did they produce someone like you?"

"Hey!"

Claire couldn't help giggling as Iris and Sydney started arguing. Iris's antics were funny in their own way, too, and she'd let them go for a few minutes before speaking up again.


	3. The Sentries

**Author's Note:** Sentry Duty! There will be some jokes/references coming up in the main fic that will be a whole lot funnier (and/or just make more sense) with this here, so have some of Rin and Iris doing stuff.

* * *

**The Sentries**

"Hey, Team Shadow? Can one of you handle sentry duty for me today?"

Diglett had just popped out of the floor in front of the group of four, and he glanced over at the grate as he spoke.

"Sure! Does your dad need you to keep up with the boards today?" Claire asked.

Diglett nodded, and Claire turned to look at her teammates. Rin and Iris looked a little confused; they'd just joined recently, so they weren't sure how sentry duty worked.

"Hey, how about you give it a try, Iris?" Claire suggested. "Loudred will explain how it works. Since you've never done it before, you should see if you like it!"

"Okay, I guess…" Iris shrugged. "Fine with me!"

"Thanks, Cacnea!"

Diglett burrowed back underground as Iris strode over to Loudred. Claire waved to her as she, Rin, and Felix walked towards the ladder.

"We'll meet you in our room when we get back later! Good luck!"

"It can't be that hard, can it?"

Iris grinned as she watched her friends walk away, unaware of what, exactly, she was getting herself into.

* * *

"Visitor detected!"

"Whose footprint?"

Iris squinted up at the grate above her. There were two paws shuffling back and forth, and they kind of looked brown…or tan, or yellow; it was hard to tell with the minimal lighting. The shuffling didn't help, either.

"…Raticate?"

"Nowhere CLOSE! It's Raichu!"

Iris rolled her eyes. One mistake wasn't that big of a deal, was it?

Another Pokémon stepped onto the grate a few seconds later, and Iris pursed her lips as she looked up at the feet. These were considerably larger, and somewhat claw-like… Her frown deepened as she tried to figure them out.

"You better be taking so long because you're THINKING, Cacnea!"

"Um…Sceptile?"

"No, that's WRONG! It's Charizard! URGH! What's next?"

"…Meganium?"

"Venusaur! That's THREE wrong now! You better get the NEXT ONE right!"

"Nidoking?"

"No, Nidoqueen!"

Iris groaned as Loudred ran up to let Nidoqueen in. The next Pokémon shuffled onto the grate the instant Nidoqueen stepped off, so Iris had a few seconds before Loudred came back… Not that it helped much.

"The next visitor is Scyther!"

"WAY off! That's Blastoise! Who's next?"

"…Nidorina?"

"No, THIS ONE is a Nidoking!"

Iris scowled. It was going to be a very, very long day if this kept up…

* * *

When the final visitors were allowed into the guild, Iris all-too-eagerly scrambled out of the sentry tunnel. She was met by a very irritated Loudred and Chatot.

"You're TERRIBLE! What were you THINKING?" Loudred demanded.

Chatot squawked. "I came to see how things were going, and Loudred says you didn't identify a single footprint correctly all day!"

"Well, _sorry_," Iris replied, rolling her eyes again. "It's not like I've ever done this before—"

"And you aren't doing it ever again!"

Chatot fluttered away indignantly. Upon seeing Iris's scowl, Loudred doubled over in laughter.

"Well, maybe I don't want to do sentry duty ever again, anyway!" she shouted, and then stormed away towards her team's bedroom.

* * *

A few days later, Diglett once again approached Team Shadow for help with sentry duty. Rin volunteered willingly, much to Iris's shock. She listened attentively during Loudred's explanation, and then she climbed down into the tunnel.

Unsurprisingly, it wasn't long before the day's first visitor arrived.

"Visitor detected!" Rin called.

"Whose footprint? Whose footprint?" Loudred shouted back.

Rin carefully looked up at the feet on the grate. She and Iris had traveled around a lot before they'd joined the guild, so they'd met a lot of different Pokémon. While Iris was less attentive, Rin often noticed what kinds of footprints the Pokémon would leave when they parted ways, maybe due to her tendency to hang back and observe rather than talk. Therefore, she could easily identify the Pokémon on the grate.

"The footprint is Roselia's!"

"Hey, that's RIGHT! Who's next?"

Rin smiled; she may have been quiet, but being praised still felt nice. She quickly looked back up at the grate, trying to keep herself on track.

"Luxio! The footprint is Luxio's!"

"GOOD! That's TWO now. Keep it up!"

"The next visitor is Prinplup!"

"That's RIGHT!"

Three so far, Rin counted. She hadn't expected herself to fail, but this was going more smoothly than she'd anticipated… Maybe Iris's performance had just made her nervous.

"Footprint detected! It's Flareon!"

"Right again! Can you get the NEXT one right, too?"

"The next visitor is a Kirlia! Oh—a Dusclops just stepped up, too—"

"Good WORK! Keep them coming!"

* * *

At the end of the day, Rin smiled and climbed out of the sentry tunnel. It had been a busy day, but she'd done well. She was surprised to see Chatot waiting with Loudred, but then again, Iris _had_ mentioned Chatot appraising her work…

"You did WELL today, Cubone!" Loudred congratulated.

"Yes, much better than Cacnea, I hear!" Chatot nodded approvingly. "You identified every visitor correctly. That's good work, indeed! Here's a small reward for you."

The Flying-Type had a stack of items next to him, and he pushed them towards Rin with his wing. Rin felt her eyes widen when she examined her prizes. Chatot had given her some money, a Defense Scarf, a Heal Seed, and even a Reviver Seed!

"I hope YOU'LL do this again!" Loudred added.

"As do I."

Chatot gave her a pleased look before heading towards Wigglytuff's room. After Rin gathered up her rewards, she waved at Loudred and walked over to her team's room. Claire would definitely be happy to hear the good news…


	4. The Failed Attempt

**Author's Note:** Andrew (understandably) didn't get much page time in the main fic, so I figured I'd give him a little development here. There's also a tiny bit of explanation as to how my version of the Dimensional Scream works. ...Incidentally, it also introduced a minor issue that I'm going to be properly explaining later, but that will be a side story for another day.

* * *

**The Failed Attempt**

Andrew took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and put his hands on the pedestal. He waited, holding his breath. It had to happen sooner or later, didn't it?

…Granted, it usually happened sooner with Michelle and Claire. But he knew this was the right place. Andrew hadn't forgotten; while he hadn't gone into the volcanic cave, he'd been outside it when Michelle and Blitz had started researching the place. He remembered it well. So, Andrew was sure that it wasn't the location that was at fault.

It was the perfect place to find out whether or not he had the Dimensional Scream. If there was something there, he'd see it if he had the ability.

…Silence. There was still nothing. He sighed, waited a bit longer, and squeezed his eyes shut tighter. It _had_ to work.

The silence was finally broken when Jirachi tentatively asked, "So…is it working?"

Andrew sighed again, shook his head, and stepped back. He wasn't sure what he'd expected, really. Michelle had mentioned once that occasionally more than one child per generation would inherit the Dimensional Scream, but it was rare. Of course he wouldn't be one of the exceptions; that would actually make him useful.

"No," he muttered. "Guess I can't help after all."

"Maybe you just need to try another place," Jirachi awkwardly suggested. "I mean, Michelle just heard voices here, right? So maybe it's…not strong enough here, or…something. Or maybe it's _my_ fault, and you need another partner—"

Andrew shook his head. He'd assumed that he couldn't 'share' partners with Claire or their mother, and that Jirachi or Celebi would be the next best choices after Blitz and Jack. But if Jirachi wasn't helping, then he wasn't sure what else to do.

"No, it's fine. You don't have to be so nice. I guess I can just…help you go over some information, or gather supplies, or something like that."

Jirachi paused for a long while, not looking away from Andrew. He was probably trying to think of something encouraging to say, but Andrew wasn't sure if he was in the mood for it. Sure, he appreciated the attempt, but…it also felt condescending in a way, even if he knew Jirachi didn't mean it like that.

Finally, Jirachi sighed and said, "All right. If that's what you want to do, we can go on home."

Andrew nodded, and the Psychic-Type floated over to him and rested a hand on his shoulder. After a bright flash of light—accompanied by that ever-'lovely' breaking-apart feeling—they arrived at 'home.' Michelle and Blitz had set up camp in a small clearing surrounded by a thick circle of trees, a nice change from the series of caves they'd lived in the past few times.

And, fortunately, no one else was home. If he remembered correctly, Celebi had attempted to find a way to teleport everyone to Frozen Island. That was good; they'd probably be gone a while, and Andrew didn't want anyone to watch him mope.

"So…do you want to get started, then?" Jirachi hesitantly glanced over at him. "Gregory managed to find this old stone tablet and brought it to the last meeting. Maybe we could try and decipher the runes on it?"

"Sure, sounds good."

Well, at least he could still be good for _something_, Andrew thought. As he looked at the tablet in question, he tried to convince himself that was good enough.


	5. A Surprising Start

**Author's Note:** More Team Lightning backstory in this one, because writing about Heliona being Ridiculous(tm) will always entertain me. Sorry not sorry, rest of her team.

* * *

**A Surprising Start**

"You know, there's something else I've been wondering," Claire commented as she glanced over at Heliona.

This time, the two teams had decided to meet up in Team Shadow's room. Sunflora and Chimecho would be joining them later, after Sunflora finished helping Chimecho clean up after dinner. The guys had wanted to turn in early again that night, so they'd picked another room to hang out in this time.

Heliona blinked. "Oh, what is it?"

"It's just…well…how did your team get started?"

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, I think I know," Iris cut in with a grin. "You three are all so different, it's kinda weird to see all three of you on something serious like an exploration team. Right?"

Sydney blinked. "That doesn't make any sense. You four are just as different as we are."

"Well, yeah, but—"

Claire shook her head. "Well, she's not _too_ far off. I _was_ thinking about your personalities, in a way. It just seems like Sydney would be the best leader of you three. So wouldn't it make more sense if it was his idea, and you two were following him?"

Leon cringed. "Yeah, that's a good point. That's…actually what we'd been planning on, to be honest."

"Really?" Felix blinked. "What happened, then?"

"See, when we got here, _somebody_ decided to change the plan," Sydney groaned. "When Wigglytuff asked us who our team leader was going to be, and Heliona jumped in and yelled—"

"_I am_!" Heliona interrupted with a grin, sounding proud of herself.

"—just like that, yes." Sydney sighed and shook his head. "And, of course, Chatot won't let us change it now. Some kind of strict guild rule or another. So now we're stuck like this."

Claire nodded slowly. Suddenly, a lot of things made more sense… She could see Heliona doing that, too.

"Of course, I probably would've gone along with it, anyway," Leon mumbled. "It's not exactly like I'd make a good leader, so I wasn't objecting."

"See? See?" Heliona demanded. "Leon thinks I'm a good fit for the role!"

…And Claire also guessed it was a good thing she was interpreting it that way. She pressed a paw to her mouth as she giggled at Sydney's expression. The Absol's jaw was hanging open, and he managed to close it after shaking his head.

"Well, if you want to think that, I won't stop you. Not that I _could_ stop you, anyway," he grumbled.

"I _am_ unstoppable," Heliona said proudly. "Which is why you guys stick with me, right?"

"Well, you're not wrong on that… It _is_ kind of impressive," Leon admitted.

Claire started giggling harder when Sydney managed to look even more disgruntled. She was sure he agreed deep down, but it was funny to watch anyway.


	6. Time In Between

**Author's Note:** This one's mainly a little hole-patching, in that you're supposed to hear about the expedition around the same time you do Waterfall Cave in-game. Except I'd left that out in the main fic and went right to recruiting Rin and Iris instead. On the other hand, it did allow me to add a little extra joke to Team Skull's scene here, so that's a thing.

* * *

**Time In Between**

"Team Shadow, the Guildmaster would like to see you in his quarters."

Chatot poked his head into the recruits' bedroom, beckoning to them with his wing. Claire looked up in surprise; it was kind of late, and Chatot usually enforced an early bedtime on everyone… Still, she wouldn't argue with him, and she and Felix stood up obediently.

"Us too?"

Iris looked up blearily, grumbling as she sat up; she'd been half asleep when Chatot had come in. Rin looked confused as well, even if she was more alert than Iris was. The two of them _had_ just joined the team that day, after all. In response, Chatot sighed and waved his wing dismissively.

"He asked for all of you," he replied. Then, he added under his breath, "I'm not sure why either."

"_Hey_!"

Iris protested, fully awake now; nonetheless, she and Rin followed Claire and Felix. When the quartet arrived in front of Wigglytuff's room, Chatot peered through the cracked door.

"They're here, Guildmaster," he called.

Chatot proceeded to usher the team inside. For a few moments, Wigglytuff continued to spin around in circles and juggle the Perfect Apple he'd been holding. Then, he finally noticed Team Shadow, stopped spinning, and grinned as he set his apple down.

"Hiya!" he said cheerfully. "You've been doing good work lately, friendly friends, so we've got something important to tell you. We're going to be going on an expedition soon!"

"An expedition?" Felix repeated. "What's that mean?"

"We take an official trip out as a guild to explore somewhere, looking for treasure and other such things," Chatot explained. "We would usually never, _ever_ consider taking rookies such as yourselves or Team Lightning, but…"

"We're considering putting you on the list anyway! You've been doing that well," Wigglytuff finished.

Felix's eyes were practically sparkling at this point. "We get to explore for treasure?"

"That does sound fun, huh?" Claire nodded.

"We get to come too, right?" Iris cut in.

"Absolutely not—"

"Of course, as long as you can do good work along with Meowth and Chimchar!" Wigglytuff interrupted Chatot again. "Since you're a part of Team Shadow, you're my friendly friends, too!"

Chatot covered his face with a wing and sighed as Iris cheered and Rin smiled tentatively. A moment later, Wigglytuff leaned down to pick up his apple and carefully propped it on his head. Then, he waved to Team Shadow before he started spinning around.

"Well, that's all we needed to tell you! Good night, friends!"

Chatot looked exasperated as he led them out of the room and closed the door. For a few seconds, the four stood there in silence before things started to settle in.

Claire grinned and threw her paws in the air. "They think we're doing that well already?"

"This kind of thing is exactly why I wanted to join the guild!" Felix added, an almost dreamy look on his face now. "Oh, I hope we get put on the list…"

"And we might get to go, too!"

Iris picked up Rin, much to the Cubone's chagrin, and spun around while holding Rin over her head. When she was set down, Rin wobbled dizzily for a few steps, and Claire giggled.

"All right, everyone," she said after catching her breath. "We need to get some sleep so we can do a good job tomorrow!"

The others nodded eagerly and followed Claire back to their bedroom.

* * *

"_Smiles go for miles_!"

"Okay, recruits! Now get to work!"

The apprentices scattered after their cheers the next morning, getting to their usual posts. Team Shadow hurried up the ladder to the second floor, heading over to the job bulletin board. After Felix climbed up the ladder, however, he froze in horror.

"I-it's them!" he stammered.

Following his line of sight, Claire noticed a familiar pair hovering near the board. A Zubat and a Koffing were examining the job notices, looking bored. Hadn't she seen them on the beach shortly after waking up? Felix had seemed uncomfortable around them back then, too.

"Let's go look at the outlaw board instead, and maybe they won't notice us," she suggested.

Felix nodded and turned around. Before he could go too far, though, he winced. Iris had just started asking him something, using her normal tone of voice…which was rather loud.

"Hey, who are those two?"

Iris pointed towards the pair as Felix tried to slink away. Naturally, they caught the question, and turned to face Iris. A moment later, they spotted Felix, and Zubat and Koffing both smirked.

"Oh, us?" Zubat said 'innocently'. "We're Team Skull…and we're good friends with that kid over there."

She waved a wing at Felix, who cringed again. Koffing chuckled before adding to the conversation as well.

"You don't have a problem with an exploration team checking out the job boards, do you?"

"N-no…but…" Felix mumbled.

"Now that I think about it… What are _you_ doing here?"

Zubat actually sounded surprised about that. Meanwhile, Koffing laughed again, but Felix suddenly had a determined look on his face. He spoke up before either of the two could make another teasing remark.

"We're an exploration team, too!"

He stepped forward, and Claire and Rin both put a hand on his shoulders in concern. Not a moment later, Koffing and Zubat exchanged glances before pushing Felix away from his teammates. All of them—even Iris—had surprised looks on their faces, and Felix sputtered out objections.

"Are you serious, kid?" Koffing demanded.

"I don't think you're cut out for this," Zubat added. "We know you scare easily—"

Felix shoved past them and mustered up a surprisingly fierce glare. "Oh yeah? W-well, we still beat you last time!"

Zubat frowned. "That's just because our boss wasn't there."

"Oh, really?" Iris cut in. "How good is your boss, huh? _We're_ so awesome that the guild is probably taking us on the expedition they're going on soon!"

"Our boss could knock you all flat in _seconds_," Koffing answered smugly. He abruptly looked from side to side, and then lit up. "Speaking of him, I think he's coming now!"

Iris's eyes suddenly widened as Rin, Felix, and Claire looked around in confusion. Then, she shoved them towards the Outlaw Board on the opposite side of the room.

Claire blinked. "What are you doing?"

"I recognize that smell," Iris hissed. "That's a Skuntank! I wouldn't go near one of those ever again with a lifetime supply of Pecha Scarves."

"What smell?" Felix asked, while Claire said to Rin, "Do I want to know this story?"

Rin merely replied with a shake of her head. Meanwhile, Iris was fixated on the ladder that went up to the entry foyer, and she was grumbling under her breath. Sure enough, a Skuntank entered the room a few seconds later.

He approached Zubat and Koffing, and the two of them kept shooting glances over at Team Shadow. Sunflora, Bidoof, and Corphish had been standing near the Outlaw Board as well, and they all looked confused at this development. Not that Claire blamed them; she couldn't help wondering what Zubat and Koffing were telling Skuntank.

Several minutes later, Skuntank roughly pulled a job notice off the board, and Zubat and Koffing followed him out. Felix breathed a sigh in relief as he watched them leave, and he and Claire started walking back towards the bulletin board.

"Well, I guess we can get to work now—" she started, but then she stopped dead in her tracks. "What _is_ that?"

Felix's hands flew to his nose as Claire started coughing. That side of the room stank like…sour milk and sweat and various other unpleasant things all mixed together. They immediately turned around, only to see Iris looking smug.

"I told you Skuntank would smell bad. You want to stick to this side today?"

"Yes," Claire replied, nodding as her eyes started watering. "Let's."

As she scanned the outlaw postings, Claire couldn't help but be glad she hadn't been on the other side of the room at the same time as Skuntank had.


	7. The Failed Hunt

**Author's Note:** While I am going to be touching on Darkrai's motives in the main fic (though not for a while yet), I have a couple of little backstory things planned for him here as well. This one's fairly general, but it does touch on what exactly he's doing in the future, and there is one line here near the end that plays into one of his later chapters. (Also, this one manages to be both the first _and_ the last of these chronologically! Time shenanigans, man.)

* * *

**The Failed Hunt**

Of course, he'd zipped back and forth between the present and his newly-created world of darkness. Why make it if he didn't get to enjoy it? The best part was that Darkrai could visit any point in his new future at any time he wanted. If he stayed anywhere for too long, he risked getting caught, but he had all the time in the world (literally) to use however he wanted. All he had to do was jump forwards or backwards at any point he so chose.

The attack on Temporal Tower had been a slow-acting one; he'd had to do it that way to make sure it went unnoticed long enough. It had gone off without a hitch, thankfully. From what Darkrai could gather, the paralysis had fully set in less than a year after he'd sabotaged the tower. Even then, he was itching to take advantage of it as soon as possible.

Darkrai supposed he didn't really _need_ to jump in immediately. His species was long-lived, after all, and he could just live it out normally. Still, jumping around like that had its advantages, too. This way, he got to test out his powers in as many eras as possible and spread the darkness personally. And each time he did it, he got stronger and stronger—he could feel his powers growing every time.

It was satisfying, more so than he'd originally thought. And it was so _easy_. The sheer despair caused by the tower's collapse made spreading nightmares an ease, and the amount of control it gave him was exhilarating. Darkrai wasn't going to give in now; he'd proved to himself that his powers were something he _could_ use on purpose, and he wouldn't give in and run away in fear now. He wouldn't end up like so many others of his kind did.

And there was one other big thing he got out of jumping around: making sure nobody, however distant in the future they were, found out how to fix the problem.

For the most part, that didn't seem to be an issue. The only people Darkrai had learned about who were much of a threat sure didn't seem to think they could do anything. He watched a particular family line closely after he managed to track them down; for a few generations, their ability seemed to have stagnated. And that was very much a relief.

But then it happened: they somehow managed to revive the Dimensional Scream. It worried Darkrai to some degree, but, even then, he didn't think they'd be much of a threat. He knew Dialga's henchmen were quite the effective trackers, and even more effective executioners. For a while, he left the task to them, hoping they'd be able to find and eliminate their targets for him.

And, in Darkrai's defense, they very nearly succeeded. It was only through sheer dumb luck that the daughter had gotten away. Still, it was a risk he could no longer ignore. He would take care of this…personally.

Darkrai had already spent a good deal of time in this particular era, so he'd gotten pretty familiar with its geography. He knew well where the Passage of Time was; he'd spring a trap there. It would save him a good deal of time. All he had to do was wait until the girl and her partner arrived, and he could take care of them then.

Just for some extra insurance, Darkrai had taken care to clear out the nearby forest beforehand. Anything to make this go faster, he thought. (He'd even dropped two or three of the wild Pokémon into nightmares, while he was at it. No reason not to inflict a little extra insurance here and there. Besides, he'd need all the extra power he could get for this next part.)

At any rate, Darkrai finally saw the duo arrive with Celebi and the other human child. He intently watched Claire and Grovyle from the shadows as Celebi got to work on opening the Passage of Time. He'd probably have a narrow opportunity to pull this off, so he had to be sure. Humans were weak and stood out compared to most of the population, so it shouldn't be hard to track Claire down in the past, if it came to that. Yes, he'd aim for Grovyle first, and then hunt down Claire later.

_There_—they stepped into the portal! Darkrai quickly slithered through the shadows and leaped into the portal just before it closed. He wasn't prepared for just how quickly it moved, though, and he was nearly thrown off course.

No—they were getting away! Darkrai growled and attempted to straighten himself out. If he moved quickly enough, he could still catch up with them now. Just a little closer, and…

He quickly lashed out at them, blinking in surprise as he flew past the duo. Curses; he'd attacked Claire by mistake. How had she managed to move in front of Grovyle like that? He heard the two shouting at each other, but he was moving too quickly to make it out properly.

And then, suddenly, the light faded from around him. Darkrai wheezed for air as he was flung to the ground. Where was he? Maybe he could still fix this if he could just figure that out.

He leaned against a tree as he floated up to look around. Darkrai seemed to have landed at the base of a hot spring he knew all too well. Ah, so he'd landed in his "home" era, it seemed. Of course they'd chosen this point in history.

Well, if Darkrai could figure out just how long it would be until the tower collapsed (and if he'd "actually" attacked it yet in the first place), then perhaps he could just wait for it to all play out as it should. But…just to be safe…he should at least try to keep tabs on the two of them.

Darkrai was so close now, and he would not let them stand in his way.


	8. Post-Grads

**Author's Note:** This one's a tad less plot-heavy than the last one, but, hey, Team Shadow deserves some rest sometimes, right? And I figured I should at least mention the graduation exam at some point. Also, keep in mind the conversation about everyone's families, since that'll come up again in approximately... oh, seventeen more of these.

* * *

**Post-Grads**

It was a strange feeling, Claire thought, as they all settled into the Bluff for the night.

Well, the whole thing had been weird, really. She still didn't know what to make of that graduation "exam," even if it seemed fitting in various ways. The battle against everyone in the guild had been hard, very hard. But of course Wigglytuff would leave behind a Perfect Apple as a "treasure." Proving they were stronger than the guild's crew and bringing back the guildmaster's favorite item made sense, even if she hadn't known what to expect going into Mystifying Forest.

And…more importantly, they were _free_ now. Well, they were still an exploration team, of course, so Team Shadow would continue taking jobs and helping out other Pokémon. They just wouldn't be held to as strict of rules now. They wouldn't have to get up so early or be back at a specific time; there was no schedule anymore.

"You know," Iris commented as she finished setting up her bed, "I bet we don't have to follow that dumb rule anymore. The one about only having four teammates at a time? All five of us could go out at a time if we really felt like it."

"Iris, you know that's there for a reason," Rin replied. "Besides, we could probably end up taking more jobs if we split up into groups."

"Fine," Iris groaned. "You have a point. Well, what should we all do tomorrow, then?"

Bruce grinned. "Well, it might be nice to relax a bit, you know? Of course, we should get back to work eventually, but maybe we could go out to Spinda's Café or just hang out in Treasure Town for a while."

"That does sound fun," Claire agreed. "Besides, I think we've earned a break after all of that!"

Felix nodded. "Yeah! And…I don't know. I haven't visited my family in a while. Maybe I could do that sometime soon, too."

Iris, Rin, and Bruce nodded as well. Claire had heard them all mention a little about their families before, so she supposed they'd want to do the same. It did make her a little jealous, to be honest. She still didn't remember anything about her own family, and she probably wouldn't be able to see them now, anyway. But…Claire didn't want to dampen the mood, so she didn't say it aloud.

Besides, Claire _was_ happy that they'd completed their exam. That was something to celebrate regardless, and she wouldn't let herself get distracted now.

"That all sounds good," she said. "So…a break tomorrow, and then maybe we'll do a few jobs the next day? And after that, maybe we could start making plans with everybody?"

Everyone gave various replies of agreement, and Claire grinned. She couldn't help yawning a minute later, though. Felix and Bruce soon followed suit, and they wore sheepish looks on their faces after that.

"…I think for now we should just get some rest, though," Bruce admitted. "I'm still pretty worn out from all that."

"Sounds good to me," Claire agreed. "Everyone?"

They all nodded again and moved to lie down. _Whew_…Claire sighed as she closed her eyes. She'd hoped they'd maybe have the energy to do more that night, but they had all the time they wanted from now on.

And, as they all fell asleep, Claire decided she'd very much take advantage of that freedom, starting tomorrow.


	9. Report

**Author's Note:** This is another one that's slight hole-patching, in that Team Skull didn't get the proper amount of screen-time during the expedition chapter in the main fic. Again, Heliona is fun here, and apologies to Bidoof. I do like him, but it's just so easy to shove him into the chew toy role.

* * *

**Report**

"Hey, hey! Come on, Team Lightning!"

"We're coming!"

Corphish waved a claw at the team of three as he started scuttling back towards the base camp. Heliona was right beside him, though Sydney and Leon were slightly behind them. They stopped suddenly, however, when they heard a familiar voice calling out…

"Chaw-haw! Where do you think you're going?"

Skuntank, Koffing, and Zubat had just arrived in the clearing, and Team Skull's leader was wearing his usual smirk.

Corphish frowned. "We've got to get back to the base camp, hey, hey! Didn't you notice the fog lifted?"

"Of course we did," Zubat replied condescendingly. "You're all going to be good little recruits and tell Chatot, aren't you?"

"Why wouldn't you want to look for the treasure?" Koffing continued.

"Because Team Shadow already is!" Leon answered.

The Shinx was looking a bit nervous; not that anyone blamed him, what with how weird Team Skull was… It was surprising that the normally-shy Leon was the one to speak up, though. It didn't seem to matter much at first—nobody from Team Skull replied right away.

Instead, Skuntank had narrowed his eyes, and he was looking towards the towering landmass past the Groudon statue. Team Shadow was barely visible at its base for a few seconds before disappearing into its cave entrance. Then, he smirked again and started lumbering towards them.

"Well, we'll just have to follow them," he said smugly. "I bet they'll lead us right to the treasure!"

"Hey, hey! That's not fair!" Corphish scowled.

"You think we care?" Skuntank rolled his eyes. "Look, if you're going to get in our way, then—"

"Wait! Perfect Apple, wait for me!"

Before Skuntank could continue, a Perfect Apple rolled towards them and landed right in the middle of the assembly. Sydney raised an eyebrow as Wigglytuff appeared on the scene, dashing after his beloved fruit. The guildmaster picked it up with a relieved smile, and then he looked up and noticed everyone.

"Oh, friendly friends! You're all here together!" he said cheerily.

"Y-yes, we are," Skuntank replied, forcing a grin.

Wigglytuff seemed to miss the Poison-Type casting an anxious glance over his shoulder. It was clear to everyone else that he was worried about Team Shadow beating him to the lake… And it was lucky that Wigglytuff had shown up right then, as anything that distracted Team Skull was welcome to everyone else.

"If you'll excuse us, Guildmaster, we need to look for the lake," Skuntank went on.

"That's not necessary, friends! Corphish and Team Lightning here can do that!" Wigglytuff said as he balanced the apple on his head.

"Actually, Guildmaster…" Sydney answered. "Team Shadow is already doing that. They're the ones who figured out how to lift the fog. We were on our way to tell Chatot when we were _so lucky_ as to run into Team Skull here."

"Oh?" Wigglytuff answered curiously. "Is that right, Absol? You better do that, then!"

Fortunately, Wigglytuff seemed to miss the sarcasm in Sydney's last statement. Instead, he just nodded at him and kept grinning. With a sigh of relief, Team Lightning and Corphish turned back towards Foggy Forest.

"All right, Guildmaster!" Heliona shouted. "Here we go!"

As the four of them walked away, Corphish looked over his shoulder. Wigglytuff was now spinning around, Perfect Apple still balanced on his head, and Team Skull were giving him looks of disbelief.

"Hey, hey! We got lucky, huh?" he said. "I thought for sure Skuntank was going to attack us."

"Probably," Sydney agreed. "Now we just have to hope we're lucky enough not to run into any trouble in the forest…"

"Don't say anything, Sydney! I'm not going to get us lost again," Heliona huffed. "You don't think so, do you, Leon?"

"Uh…no," Leon replied hesitantly. "We'll be…just fine."

"See? Now come on!"

With that, the four of them hurried through Foggy Forest, focused on getting back to the base camp.

* * *

"I reckon that was the wrong path, by golly…"

Bidoof frowned as he arrived back at the base camp. The trail he'd followed had just looped back to where he started… He hoped he wasn't the only one to have made that mistake.

Unfortunately, the base camp was nearly deserted, indicating that everyone else had gone the right way. Soon, Chatot fluttered up to him, looking hopeful.

"Oh? Bidoof! What do you have to report?"

"I, uh…" Bidoof looked around nervously. "That is…oof…"

"_Chatot_!"

Both of them jumped as Heliona's screech rang out, yet Bidoof was also grateful for the interruption. She hurried up to Chatot as Corphish, Sydney, and Leon trailed after her.

"Ooh, you'll never believe what we found!" Heliona went on too quickly for Chatot to reply. "There was this weird statue and Team Shadow got rid of the fog and we figured out how to get to the lake and—"

"Slow down!" Chatot squawked. "You say that it's…Team Shadow who lifted the fog? Where are they now?"

"Oh, they went on ahead." Heliona grinned, her speech now at a (slightly) more normal speed. "So we came back to tell you."

"Well! This is certainly a useful report," Chatot said approvingly. "We should find the other recruits and let them know. Let's get going, everyone!"

"_Yes, sir_!"

The five apprentices followed after Chatot as he went into the forest, eager to get back to the clearing.


	10. Aura Scarves

**Author's Note:** We get some general mild headcanon territory, character stuff, and some fun at Sydney's expense! What _doesn't_ this chapter have? Also, the timing of this getting posted works out great, because it also accidentally ends up slightly foreshadowing some stuff that will happen in the next chapter of the main fic.

* * *

**Aura Scarves**

"So what's the deal with these scarves we got from the guildmaster?" Claire asked as everyone got settled.

Everyone had met up in Bidoof's room again that night, and Claire figured that at least one of the older recruits had to know what the deal was. She'd noticed the way all of her teammate's scarves had changed color, after all. Surely the same thing had happened to everyone else, right?

"Oh, you mean the Aura Scarves!" Chimecho replied. "They're made of a special material that reads your aura, so that's why they're different for everyone."

Felix blinked. "Aura…Scarves? What does that mean?"

"Well…let me see…oh, why don't you tell me what color your scarf is, Chimchar?" Chimecho went on.

"Oh, uh…mine's dark blue," he replied.

"Hmm…dark blue…" Chimecho repeated, looking deep in thought. "I'd say that means that things seem dark for you sometimes, but you're still able to see a bit of color in every situation! A bright spot to work for, if that makes sense. It means you still have some hope even if things are hard for you sometimes."

"Really?" Felix blushed, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "You could tell all that just from my scarf color? I mean…that _is_ kind of accurate, but…"

"Mine's dark blue, too," Leon said, looking over at Felix. "And, uh…I guess that's kind of true for me, too. I was surprised about this whole thing at first, but…it does make sense."

"Eek! It's _totally_ true," Sunflora said, nodding. "For example, my scarf is yellow! It means that I'm bright and cheery, and I never give up!"

That made sense, too, Claire thought. Sunflora _was_ pretty energetic from what Claire had seen of her so far. Still, she was curious about some of the other colors.

"Oh, mine's orange! What does that mean?" she asked.

"Well, just like the actual color, it means you're halfway in between Pokémon with red and yellow auras!" Sunflora explained. "It means you're outgoing and cheerful, and maybe a little hasty at times, but not _as_ impatient as someone with a red scarf."

Iris blinked. "Huh, red means you're impatient?"

"You're definitely impatient, Iris," Rin muttered, though the Cacnea didn't seem to hear her.

"Oh my gosh, yes!" Sunflora nodded. "Red means you're _super_ impatient, and also a little bit reckless! Just ask Loudred; _his_ scarf is red, too!"

"HEY!" Loudred protested. "I am NOT reckless! …Okay, maybe I'm a LITTLE reckless…"

Sunflora giggled. "See what I mean? Now, ooh, how about the rest of Team Lightning and Team Shadow?"

"Mine's brown," Rin offered.

"Hmm, that means you're the steady, dependable type. You're serious but reliable," Chimecho said, and Rin nodded at the explanation. That was fitting, too.

Heliona shrugged. "Mine's red, too, and Leon already said what his was! So why don't you tell everyone what color _yours_ is, Sydney?"

The Absol looked aside and started muttering under his breath. All of the other apprentices perked up, staring eagerly at him while they awaited a reply. Heliona burst into giggles, which didn't help Sydney's apparent embarrassment.

Finally, he mumbled, "Pink… It's _pink_, all right?"

The majority of the assembled recruits started laughing as well, and Loudred and Croagunk were doubled over within a few seconds. Even Felix and Rin cracked grins at that, and Claire had to press a paw to her mouth to suppress her giggling. (It didn't work very well.) Not that there was anything wrong with pink, she thought—it was just so unexpected from Sydney, of all Pokémon!

Once Sunflora caught her breath, she said, "Eek! That totally means you're a big softie deep down! Pink means you're really gentle and sensitive. Right?!"

"I am _not_ sensitive _or_ gentle!" Sydney snapped, a blush rising to his cheeks.

Everyone started howling with laughter again, and Claire found herself very glad she'd asked her question in the first place.


	11. Evolution

**Author's Note:** This is essentially just my headcanon on how Pokémon evolve in the future. I mean, they have to somehow, as there are tons of evolved Pokémon running around in the future dungeons, apart from just our obvious two plot-relevant ones. In case it's not clear, they can evolve on their own; it just takes being at a considerably higher level than "normal." (As for the ones with "special" evolutions... well, maybe they just need a level requirement in addition to whatever their normal method is.)

* * *

**Evolution**

It was irrational, Leaf knew, to blame himself for what happened at the crystal cavern.

However, he found himself doing it anyway.

Maybe if he'd been a little bit stronger, he could've helped more. Maybe he would've been able to do more than get swatted aside after dealing with a single Sableye. Maybe he could've kept Michelle and Blitz or at least Jack from dying.

And that part was the worst, really. Claire no longer had a partner for the Dimensional Scream, because losing her mother (and the closest thing she'd ever had to a father) wasn't enough. Even if Leaf could help her activate her ability, that _wouldn't be good enough_ if he couldn't defend her, too.

It was with that thought that Leaf found himself sneaking away from the small burrow they'd recently moved into. Everyone else had fallen asleep already, and he glanced over his shoulder to make sure he hadn't woken anyone up. No one was following him; good. If he was going to train, he needed to do it alone. At least that way, Leaf couldn't burden anyone.

(Everyone had always assured him that he'd _never_ been a burden. Leaf knew that Claire especially would never think of him like that. But still, he had to be sure.)

Eventually, he found a good spot. The Treecko had reached a small clearing within a thick cluster of trees. He had space, but he was also hidden from view. There were also plenty of branches and leaves frozen midair; he had a lot of targets.

Leaf closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and leapt into the air. Then, he swung out at a small branch in front of him. The ensuing _crack_ caused by his Pound attack was oddly satisfying, Leaf thought as he hit the ground. He nodded, jumped towards another stick, and split it in half, too.

His targets were small and fragile, nothing like an actual Pokémon. Practice was practice, though. Leaf would move up to larger branches eventually. Maybe he'd even climb up the trees and see if he could knock off the thicker ones up there.

That would have to wait, though. He'd have to practice and practice and _practice_ until he was even stronger. Leaf growled to himself as he split another stick—and it was embarrassing how soft and non-threatening his growl really was.

Maybe if he could figure out how to evolve, that would help even more. Evolution was supposed to be difficult now, but Pokémon did it somehow. His parents had done it twice each, after all. Blitz had, multiple Pokémon in the research team had, and even that Dusknoir had. There had to be _some_ way to do it.

Leaf closed his eyes again as he tried to remember something. Once, long ago, he'd had this conversation with his parents. He knew he'd asked them about evolution. What had they said?

* * *

_"In the past, Pokémon used to go to a place called Luminous Spring," his mother explained. "But that place doesn't work anymore."_

_"Why not?" he asked._

_"They say it's because 'time' doesn't work here—whatever that means." His father shrugged, idly scratching his shoulder before going on. "But we've found ways to do it on our own. It simply requires more strength than it did before."_

_"More strength?" Leaf repeated._

_His mother nodded. "Yes, more strength. You could be weaker if you did it back at the spring, but now you need more power."_

* * *

More power…Leaf nodded, taking a deep breath. If he could get stronger, he could help Claire and evolve at the same time. He could do this.

No, he _would_ do it. He _had_ to do it.

Leaf jumped, splitting another stick. He moved over to a larger one, swinging harder—and there was a sharper, stinging sound as it snapped. The blow had enough force to properly knock the branch to the ground, and it felt exhilarating.

He darted towards a tree, unconsciously boosting his speed with a Quick Attack. Then, he jumped and crashed into another branch from above. It hit the ground in several pieces, and Leaf had to roll aside to avoid scraping himself on the splintered bits.

Still, he was gulping for air as his heartbeat sped up. Without really thinking about it, Leaf automatically charged towards another tree. The ensuing crash caused several thick branches to rattle and fall off it, and another thud caused a noticeable split in the trunk.

One more. Just one more Quick Attack. Leaf had to do it _one more time_—

He slammed into the tree again, and Leaf barely noticed the mighty _thud_ caused by its halves hitting the ground. Instead, he was all too aware of the tingling sensation all over his body. Leaf was numb and sore at the same time, and his limbs abruptly jerked out at awkward angles. He fell down on all fours as a shooting pain went through his body, and Leaf's vision started to go white.

His limbs felt…longer, somehow. They were growing rapidly, and something was bursting out of his wrists and head. His tail was shifting and changing, and his fingers were getting longer and sharper.

Finally, it all faded, and Leaf was panting for air. He was still hunched over on the ground, trembling slightly. But the ground seemed further away, and then Leaf got a better look at his hands. He had claws now, and leaves had sprouted from his wrists. Leaf absently raised a hand to his head—there was a leaf there, too, now.

He stood up, wobbling as he tried to adjust to his new legs. Slowly, he ran his hands—_claws_—over the rest of his body. Leaf was taller and lither now. There was a faint tingling feeling in his legs; he was more agile now, he could feel it.

He'd done it. Leaf wasn't entirely sure how, but he was a Grovyle. He'd _evolved_.

Maybe it had been the sheer determination, the thoughts of Claire, or some combination of both. Leaf wasn't sure. But now he was stronger. He might be good enough to help now.

While Leaf would need more practice than he'd thought—he needed to get used to his new body—he was _useful_, and that was all that mattered.


	12. Investigations

**Author's Note:** Want some more Darkrai? Here's some more Darkrai. This was probably my favorite Darkrai chapter to write, since figuring out how he was able to even get to Dialga and Temporal Tower in the first place was interesting to me. Lots of headcanon territory in here, and Torkoal was fun, too. Anyway, here we go.

* * *

**Investigations**

It had been annoyingly slow at first. Darkrai told himself that it would be worth it if he could pull it off, but it still frustrated him.

Of course, most of the so-called "legendary" Pokémon had some kind of vague knowledge of each other. Something to do with being some of the first few species to exist, and everyone knowing each other during the early stages of creation, or some ridiculous reason like that, if the old tales were to believed. At any rate, it was enough to give Darkrai an idea of where to start. He just needed to find out what to do next.

Darkrai knew Dialga lived in a place called the Hidden Land, but he had no idea where that was or how to get there. He didn't want to make too many connections by asking directly, though; that would tip everyone off. He had to be subtle.

Maybe if he could find some kind of knowledgeable source…still, he'd have to figure out a proper way to ask. There was that guild, and the café, and Treasure Town itself, but passing through any of those would be too obvious. Too many Pokémon would see him. But perhaps…where was another good place he could check?

Maybe…the hot spring? If Darkrai went at night, the area wouldn't be too crowded, and he could ask that supposedly-knowledgeable Torkoal who lived there. It was the only good lead he had, so he may as well go with it.

Darkrai made his way to the hot spring that evening, carefully watching to make sure he wasn't followed. By the time he arrived, the spring was deserted, save for the old turtle himself. Perfect. Torkoal didn't seem to notice him at first, but then he slowly raised his head and tilted it to the side.

"Mm? What brings you here so late, friend?"

Darkrai perched himself on the rocky edge of the spring as he replied, slowly and carefully. "I have a question for you, old man. They say you're the most knowledgeable Pokémon in town—have you heard of a place called the Hidden Land?"

"The…Hidden Land?" Torkoal repeated, head bobbing to the other side as he mulled it over. "Oh! Yes! The Hidden Land. They say it's across the sea somewhere, but…no one has ever been there and back."

"A place across the sea, hmm…" Darkrai idly traced a hand across the water's surface. That was…vague, but it was a decent start nonetheless. "Anything else you know?"

"Mm…" Torkoal's eyes squinted even harder than they already were. "Proof… You need…proof of some sort, or so I've heard. A peculiar kind of…oh, what was it now? A peculiar proof…"

Darkrai frowned. A peculiar proof? What did that mean? But…maybe he could put the two together somehow. A peculiar proof that had something to do with the sea… If he could find some kind of strange place near the ocean, then…

"Oh, I've gone and forgotten." Torkoal sighed. "I can't remember what the proof is. My apologies, child."

"You've already given me plenty. I've got a huge start, thanks to you."

Darkrai shifted, rising off the edge of the hot spring. Torkoal blinked at him, speaking up again as Darkrai began floating away.

"Wait! How can I find you if I remember?"

"I will return if I need your help," he replied easily. "Don't trouble yourself any more, old man."

With that, he faded into the shadows, ignoring the Fire-Type's confused muttering.

* * *

It took a while, but Darkrai turned his investigations to coastal areas from then on. Something peculiar… He researched a few caves in the area, but none of them seemed too out of the ordinary.

A few weeks later, he finally made some headway. Darkrai arrived in the furthest chamber of Brine Cave, and his eyes fell on the complex pattern carved into the wall. A peculiar proof…well, it was certainly unusual. He'd never seen anything like this before. Could it be the strange thing he was looking for?

He traced his fingers over the pattern, and Darkrai paused when he heard a voice behind him.

"You…what are you doing here?"

He turned around and saw a Lapras near the shore. The Water-Type was eyeing him warily, and Darkrai lowered his hand as he faced Lapras properly.

"This place…what can you tell me about it?" he replied.

"Nothing that I should be telling _anyone_." Lapras frowned. "How did you find out about it?"

"I was told to look for a 'peculiar proof,' and I do believe I've found one." Darkrai chuckled. "Especially if you're not willing to talk. This must lead somewhere special if you're so defensive."

"I believe that's enough. Away with you."

"Oh, it's enough, all right. Thanks for your help, _sir_."

Darkrai smirked as Lapras's eyes narrowed. He soon melted away into the shadows, leaving Lapras staring at nothing.

Things were coming together now.

* * *

"Excuse me, friend. Does the 'proof' you mentioned look something like this?"

A few days later, Darkrai found himself at the hot spring again. He'd managed to recreate a decent enough drawing of the pattern in Brine Cave, and he'd brought it to Torkoal. Again, he'd come in the evening—and again, there was no one there but the old turtle. Despite the dim lighting, his diagram was visible enough, and Torkoal's jaw dropped as he looked it over.

"Yes! Yes, that's exactly it! I remember now," Torkoal replied. "That's the proof! Well…it's part of the proof, I believe…hmm…"

He stared down at the water for a few seconds, and Darkrai let him mull it over. Silently, he complained about how long this was taking. Still, there was another part of him swelling with anticipation. Darkrai was getting even closer, he could feel it. If Torkoal could just give him a little more information, then he'd be able to make his way to the Hidden Land soon.

And then Dialga and his precious tower would be all his.

"Ah, that's right." Torkoal nodded. "You have to bring the proof to the pattern, and then…er…" There was another long pause, and then he finally went on. "Yes! Then you can see the way to the Hidden Land. That's what the legend says."

Darkrai frowned, carefully folding up his diagram. "So there's another 'proof,' then?"

"Yes! But…er…" Torkoal blinked. "Ah, right. The proof should look similar to the pattern. According to the stories, of course."

Well, he'd have to find this 'separate proof,' then. But if Darkrai already knew what the pattern looked like…hopefully that would help. (_Hopefully_.) Sighing, he nodded and began floating away again.

"My thanks, again. I shall try to find this 'proof' you mention."

"Ah, no problem at all, my young friend!"

_'__If only you knew, old man.'_ Darkrai sneered to himself as he left. _'If only you knew…'_


	13. The News

**Author's Note:** So, who remembers Skorupi and Team Aura Blade? They kind of dropped off in the main fic, so they needed a side story.

* * *

**The News**

"I can't believe he's actually a jerk!" Skorupi wailed. "I'm so _stupid_!"

"There, there, Skorupi," Kerry said as she gently patted the smaller Pokémon's head. "We all make mistakes sometimes."

The two of them, along with Kerry's Lucario partner, were sitting in Spinda's café. There were a few other Pokémon there as well, and they were all grimly looking over the posters. One of the Pelipper mailmen had just dropped a few of them off at the café, and they contained some rather serious news.

It seemed that the identity of the Time Gear thief had finally been revealed: it was that Grovyle Kerry and Maryn had met before. Skorupi knew him, too, and she was taking the news especially hard. Her still-half-full glass of Pink Gummi juice had gone untouched ever since she'd looked at one of the wanted posters, and now she was sitting with her face buried into the table.

Maryn, on the other hand, merely drummed his fingers on the table as he looked over at Kerry. "See, what did I say? I believe the correct phrase here is, _'I told you so'_."

Kerry sighed. "Yes, yes, Maryn. You told me so. What good does that do now, though?"

"Well…nothing, I suppose," he admitted. "It does feel nice to say, though."

"You're a jerk, too, Maryn," Skorupi muttered. "I can't believe you'd say that!"

"See? You could at least be a little more sympathetic to the poor dear." Kerry shook her head. "Besides…I'm sure we'll end up hearing if there's anything we can do about this. Perhaps we can ask Wigglytuff or Officer Magnezone if they know of any ways to help."

"Fine; you have a point." Maryn sighed and took a sip of his Orange Gummi juice before he went on. "We'll just have to wait and see, I suppose."

Kerry nodded, frowning as she took one more look at the poster on their table. Something still felt strange to her. She hadn't thought he'd seemed like a bad Pokémon, really. This was something serious nonetheless, but…

Well, she was right. They'd just have to wait for more news.

Until then, she'd have to hope that whoever caught Grovyle was doing the right thing.


	14. Siblings

**Author's Note:** A little backstory building, headcanons that serve to explain some of the more _outright ridiculous_ stuff in the main series, and even some fun at Loudred's expense! What _doesn't_ this chapter have?

* * *

**Siblings**

"So, what is it like to have siblings?" Claire asked as she settled in for that night's meeting.

"Well, I don't know," Diglett replied. "I don't have any. But didn't you say you do, Bidoof?"

"Yup, yup!" Bidoof nodded. "I've got two little siblings, myself! I gotta do my best and a good example for them. It's hard sometimes, but…I reckon I did a decent job of helping them out, by golly."

"I know what you mean," Sunflora agreed. "I've got a little sister, too, and, eek! She's _so_ adorable. She's still a little Sunkern, so I had to do my best and take care of her!"

"I wish my siblings were like you guys," Iris huffed, folding her arms. "Well, one of them's okay, but the other two just pick on me all the time. It's so stupid. Everyone always says big brothers are supposed to look out for you, but Barrett and Elliot sure don't!"

"Barrett doesn't pick on you, Iris," Rin sighed. "He just never let you get away with doing whatever you wanted. Anyway…I've got four siblings myself, but only two of them are younger. We all get along pretty well, so—"

"Wait, how do YOU have siblings, Cubone?" Loudred demanded.

"Ooh, I know!" Sunflora said, clapping her leaves together. "I bet they're half-siblings! And, oh my gosh, maybe some of them aren't even Cubone! Because then they wouldn't have to worry about, _you know_…"

Rin blinked. "Worry about what? …Oh, you don't mean that _stupid_ rumor about female Marowak, do you?"

"_HUH_?" everyone said, partly because the normally-quiet Rin was being so blunt, and partly because of what she was implying.

"Don't tell me you _actually_ think female Marowak die after they have children," Rin groaned. "I mean, we'd be an endangered species if that actually happened, right? Besides…I hear that sometimes you'll find Cubone who take their mother's helmets if that _does_ happen, but…that's only in some places. I guess the rumor started from there."

Loudred blinked at her. "Wait, so you're ALSO saying you're normally BORN with those helmets?"

"Um…yes? Why wouldn't we be?" Rin tilted her head to the side in confusion. "That's like asking if…if Squirtle are born with their shells, or something."

Everyone silently processed this information. Then, Loudred huffed, stood up, and barreled towards the doorway.

"Hey, hey! Where are you going?" Corphish asked.

"I'm gonna ask Chatot! I bet HE'D know if you're telling the truth!"

Everyone groaned as he left the room. A few of them—including Claire and Sunflora—peeked outside in an attempt to hear the conversation better. Loudred and Chatot were far away, but they could hear them if they listened carefully…

* * *

"So is it TRUE that Marowak DON'T actually die when they lay eggs?"

"Um…no? Of course they don't." Chatot frowned. "You know you could just ask Cubone about this, right? She would know firsthand, I'd assume."

"Oh, well…erk…that is…"

"Don't tell me you actually did and came to ask me anyway. Is that what happened, Loudred?!"

Loudred jumped as Chatot waved his wings around indignantly. "OF COURSE not, Chatot! I'd NEVER waste your time like that!"

"Loudred! Get back to your room this instant!" Chatot squawked. "I have many things I need to do, so leave me to it!"

"Y-YES, sir!"

With that, Loudred scrambled out of the meeting room and back down the residential hall.

* * *

Half the recruits were laughing hysterically by the time Loudred got back to the room. Meanwhile, Rin still looked huffy, and she folded her arms and refused to look at him. Loudred scowled as he sat down, folding his arms as well.

"FINE, I was wrong! Whatever. Let's just get back to the TOPIC!"

Felix blinked. "What were we talking about, again? …Oh, right! Siblings! Um…well, I've got five older ones, myself. Everyone always kind of babied me a bit, but…well…I know they meant well. Though I was always closer to one of my cousins growing up because of that."

"Oh, what's your cousin like?" Heliona asked.

"Well, she's more outgoing now, but she used to be really shy like me when we were little," Felix replied. "And…she's on my dad's side, so she's a Pikachu instead of a Chimchar. But we still get along pretty well now, anyway."

Huh, so Felix had at least one cousin, too, Claire thought. She was learning things about all her friends, but that fact was especially interesting to her. Maybe it was because she hadn't seen any other humans around here so far, so she wondered if she had enough relatives to even _have_ cousins. (And thinking about whether or not she had a family had been the whole reason she'd asked her original question.)

"So, anyway," Chimecho was saying—Claire realized she'd missed a bit of the conversation due to spacing out. "What brought this up in the first place, Meowth?"

"Oh, er…"

Despite having just thought about that, Claire wasn't sure if she wanted to say it aloud. She hadn't told anyone else but her teammates about her amnesia, after all, and this felt like a weird time to bring it up.

She finally settled on, "Well, I was just wondering what big families were like, you know? And, uh…you know, Chatot's probably going to come in here and tell us to go to bed soon, so…"

"Aw, that's such a BORING answer." Loudred rolled his eyes. "But I GUESS you're right."

Everyone nodded as they started to shuffle out of the room. Felix looked curiously at Claire as they walked down the hallway. She smiled and shook her head as they approached the room; she supposed the topic change _had_ sounded forced, if nothing else.

"It's nothing," she said reassuringly. "I just want to make sure we get up on time tomorrow."

"Oh, okay. If you say so."

Felix nodded as he curled up on his bed, and Rin and Iris followed suit quickly enough. Claire laid down as well, but she stayed awake for a little while.

Siblings…they sounded nice. Claire slowly drifted off, left with vague-yet-persistent questions about what her family may have been like.


	15. How It All Began

**Author's Note:** Parts of this were hinted at in one or two of the previous side stories, but I may as well write out exactly how Rin and Iris met each other. Backstory! That's a good thing, right?

* * *

**How It All Began**

"You know," Claire commented as she sat down, "I've been wondering how you two met."

They'd just gotten back from that day's jobs (Team Shadow had rescued a lost Cranidos and found a missing Defense Scarf in Mount Bristle), and dinner wasn't ready yet. As such, everyone had settled back in their rooms. Claire looked curiously at her two newest teammates; Rin and Iris had been a part of the guild for a few days now, and she wanted to know more about them.

The two glanced at each other and shrugged, and Iris spoke up first.

"Well, we both grew up in the Northern Desert," she replied. "It's not too exciting, really! Our parents were friends, so we hung out a lot when we were little."

Rin nodded. "Yeah; my older sister and one of Iris's brothers are on a team together, too. That's kind of what gave us the idea to travel together. We both wanted to explore anyway, and Iris can be pretty reliable when she needs to be, so…we decided to leave together."

"You know, I think that's one of the nicest things you've ever said about me," Iris said proudly. "But, anyway, that's our story! Kinda boring, isn't it?"

Felix shook his head and grinned. "No, I think it's pretty cool! Traveling together like that sounds really fun… It took me forever to leave home, so…I think it's impressive."

"Well, when you put it that way…" Rin mused.

Iris grinned as well. "I guess it _is_ kinda cool after all!"

Claire nodded, glancing up at the ceiling as she thought it over. It also explained why the two of them were friends despite their wildly different personalities. If they'd known each other for a long time, that would make sense.

"What about you two, then?" Rin asked.

"Oh, us?" Claire blinked, looking over at Felix. "Actually…we didn't even meet until right before we joined the guild."

"Yep…" Felix sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "We met on the beach, and I kind of just…dumped the suggestion on her."

Well, that was simplifying things a little, but it was basically what happened. However, the other two didn't seem to find it weird. In fact, Iris looked impressed; her eyes widened, and she waved her arms around excitedly as she spoke.

"Really? That's so awesome! You two just met, and you decided to do something cool like that? Man…" The Cacnea sighed gustily. "That's setting some really high standards for everything else! Now you have to do even more awesome stuff from now on."

"Y-you think so?" Felix replied anxiously. "Oh, no…"

Claire laughed and patted him on the shoulder. "Come on, Felix… We've already done some cool stuff, so don't worry about impressing me! Besides—"

She was cut off when Chimecho poked her head into the room. "Dinner's ready, everyone! Come and get it."

Chimecho floated out of the room, and everyone sprang to their feet. As interesting as that conversation had been, Claire was kind of glad she'd been interrupted. She was admittedly hungry, and food sounded great. Besides, she could always ask more questions later if she thought of them.

But, for now, dinner called—and the discussion went to the back of Claire's mind.


	16. The Meeting

**Author's Note:** I wanted to toss out some kind of backstory as to how Jirachi and Celebi met each other. This does the job pretty well, and also establishes a reason why Dusknoir is aware of Celebi's existence. ...Though it is a tad spoiler-y for the main fic, and I probably should've paid more attention to the order in which I wrote these. Oh, well; it still doesn't _explicitly_ spell things out, so I'm posting it now anyway.

* * *

**The Meeting**

Jirachi sighed as the group of Sableye led him out of his cell. He wasn't sure how this had happened, really. They'd all appeared at Star Cave without warning—Jirachi hadn't thought many Pokémon knew of the place, let alone remembered that he'd ever existed.

(Of course, he did have a few vague memories of getting visitors in the past. That had been a very, very long time ago, though. Jirachi assumed he'd been all but forgotten in the intervening years, and the fact that it had taken them so long to find him seemed to confirm that. Well, _'seemed'_ was the key word there, he supposed.)

"Don't do anything funny," one of the Sableye said smugly. "Lord Dusknoir's gonna know if you're lying. Or if you try to escape before we get there."

"Yeah," another one added. "And then Master Dialga will just be even _madder_."

"I wasn't planning on it," Jirachi muttered.

It wasn't like he could attack very well with his hands tied, after all. He could always try teleporting, but…when he wasn't quite sure where he was, that probably wouldn't turn out well, anyway.

Finally, they arrived in a large room full of columns. In the distance, Jirachi saw another couple of Sableye untying something that had been bound to one of the pillar. He couldn't tell what it was, other than it was small and green—and it fell to the ground limply upon having its ropes removed.

Jirachi shuddered; they'd probably arrived at the tail end of an execution. He grimly realized that he'd be next on the list if he angered them in some way. Shaking his head, Jirachi tried to focus on what was right in front of him instead. The Sableye had removed the ropes binding his hands and shoved him towards their leader.

"Good work," the larger ghost said as he glanced down at the pair. Then, his eye turned to Jirachi, and he went on, "Do you realize why you're here?"

"No, I don't," Jirachi replied warily. "And I'd like to know, if you don't mind."

"Master Dialga believes your wish-granting powers may reverse the state of the world. And we need to find out if you are powerful enough to do so. It would hardly do to leave a threat to our existence unchecked, yes?"

"You've left me for this long," Jirachi muttered, though he yelped when one of the Sableye slashed him for the comment.

Dusknoir folded his arms, a satisfied grin creeping over his stomach at the display. He shook his head before going on, though he sounded pleased.

"And now we're going to rectify that. Hmm, let me see…what would be a good test for you…"

Jirachi watched him carefully. Depending on what the 'test' was, he could always deliberately sabotage it. Would they know? Would he get killed for failing on purpose?

He knew the limits of his powers either way; he'd _tried_ to do just the thing Dusknoir was worried about. Multiple times, even. It had never worked, but he doubted they'd believe that if he tried to tell them.

"Oh, I've—I've thought of something."

Jirachi blinked, catching the way Dusknoir's voice had faltered for a second. Had he imagined that? Before he could wonder about it further, the Ghost-Type continued speaking.

"I'd like to see if you can…revive someone," he said. "Her name is Madeline. She's a…a Mismagius. Larger than average, and with blue gems instead of the usual red. Can you do it?"

"I can't—"

The Sableye scratched at him again, and Jirachi winced. Dusknoir's eye remained fixed on him, and he almost looked desperate now.

"_Try it_," he snarled.

Jirachi sighed and closed his eyes. He supposed he was lucky they'd given him this task; reviving the dead was one of several limitations Arceus had given his kind, way back when. This was the perfect way to prove he wasn't a threat.

He tried to get a picture of the requested Pokémon in his mind nonetheless. _Mismagius, large, blue gems. Madeline._ Jirachi felt the image flicker in his mind; his general psychic powers were able to conjure up a vision of her. He could learn who it was they wanted, but after that…

Jirachi's eyes slowly opened, but he couldn't see well through them. They'd started to glow, and a flickering silhouette appeared in front of him. It took the shape of the desired Mismagius, held its form for a few seconds, and then—

Jirachi gasped as the figure disappeared. That always happened. Whenever he tried, he could never get past a basic shadow; physical forms were beyond him. He wobbled though the air, eyes half closed. Trying to do things he 'shouldn't' always left him so _drained_.

"I-I told you I…couldn't," he panted. "Is that…good enough?"

"Try _harder_," Dusknoir snapped.

Jirachi swallowed, raising his hands again. This time, he couldn't even get the outline to last more than a second or two. (Well, not really 'seconds,' he thought—but finding the 'proper' phrasing didn't matter right now.) He fell to the ground, breathing heavily, and Dusknoir stared at him in silence for a while.

Finally, he turned around and said, "Take him out of here. We don't need him—he's not a problem."

"Wheh… if you say so, Lord Dusknoir!"

The Sableye shrugged at each other before grabbing Jirachi. They didn't bother retying the ropes; he was weak enough that they could just drag him out of the stockade. Jirachi was still slightly dazed and couldn't pay attention to the trip out; he wasn't sure how long it took. When they got to the exit, the Sableye tossed him out, and Jirachi wheezed as he skidded over the ground.

"Now _stay_ away, wheh-heh! If you actually do anything…Lord Dusknoir's gonna let us kill you!"

Jirachi shook his head as he woozily returned to the air. The Sableye had already turned around; they didn't see him. It didn't matter, though, not really. He wasn't _planning_ on doing anything. It wasn't like he _could_, anyway.

"Oh! I wasn't expecting to see anyone out here. What are you doing?"

"Uh…"

Jirachi blinked as he looked around. His eyes finally settled on a Celebi nearby, and he tilted his head to the side curiously. She was pink instead of the standard green, and she was blinking at him as well.

"They just let me go," he finally said. "Why are you here? You don't look like you're captured…"

"Nope!" she replied cheerily. "I came here to look for someone. They, uh…they caught my father, and…" Her voice dropped as she glanced at the ground. "He's all I've got left. They already got my mother, so…I was hoping I could at least save him."

_Oh_. Jirachi's eyes widened; was that been what the green thing had been? He hoped not, but…

"Right before they let me go, I think I caught the end of an execution," he said faintly. "Your father, he…is he pink like you? Or is he green?"

"H-he's green, but—"

"I think…it may have been him."

She stared at him, eyes wide, and she rapidly shook her head. Jirachi hoped he was wrong, but there was no good way for them to go back and check. And if they'd already killed both of her parents, there was no way that this Celebi would get out alive if they found her.

"No, you must be mistaken," she choked out. "M-maybe it was someone else. Maybe I can find—"

"Wheh! Lord Dusknoir! That Celebi's back!"

There was a Sableye near the door of the stockade. Jirachi's eyes widened as well; he thought both of the Sableye left already. Maybe this was a different one. He supposed it didn't matter too much either way, but…

The large form of Dusknoir had suddenly appeared in the door, and he smirked as his eye fell on Celebi. She gasped, letting her hand fall on Jirachi's arm as she tried to stabilize herself.

"Oh? Here I would've thought you'd learn from your last failed rescue mission," Dusknoir said coolly. "But if you insist on coming right to us, then—"

"N-no," Celebi stammered. "I told you… You'll never catch me!"

With that, she closed her eyes, and Jirachi lurched to the side as they started to fade from the area. He recognized the feeling of being teleported quite well, and he let out a rather undignified grunt of surprise when they arrived in their new location. It appeared to be a forest, but it wasn't one Jirachi recognized.

Once he caught his breath, he turned to her and said, "Um…thanks for helping me out of there."

"It's fine," she replied dully. "I…needed to get out of there anyway, and you're obviously not one of them, so…"

Jirachi swallowed, falling silent. It was clear she'd had at least one run-in with them before, and he didn't want to just leave her behind. And if they were right, then she was all alone now. He wanted to do something for her.

"You know…if you want to, you can come and visit me sometime," he offered. "I'm usually in Star Cave, so if you need somewhere to hide…you can use that, at least for a while."

Her eyes widened again, and they started to water—though Jirachi suspected this time it was out of gratitude rather than pain.

"R-really? Are you sure? I wouldn't want to drag you into any of my problems, but…if you mean it, then I'd love to!"

Jirachi smiled and nodded. "Yes, I do. So, uh, Miss…"

"Just Celebi is fine." She swallowed. "I'm…the only one I know about now, so I guess I don't really need a name."

Jirachi gently put a hand on her arm. "If it helps, I'm the only Jirachi around anymore, too. So…let's help each other out?"

Celebi nodded, a hesitant smile on her face. "Yes; let's."

It would turn out that they'd help each other far more than either of them realized at the moment. But, for now, Jirachi was simply content to do what he could and see where things went.


	17. Crystal Clear

**Author's Note:** Since Crystal Cave got glossed over from the hero's point of view in the main fic, why not have it here? This is mainly for the sake of tweaking how the Dimensional Scream went, but having some fun with dramatic irony is always a nice bonus, too.

* * *

**Crystal Clear**

Claire frowned when she and her team arrived in the far chamber of Crystal Cave. This place felt familiar to her, too, but she'd put that thought aside while they'd traversed the dungeon. The nagging sensation was getting stronger now, though, and it was harder to ignore.

It really had been pretty, though; Bidoof was right about that. And this chamber was even better. The walls were covered in gemstones, and three large crystals were arranged in a triangle in the middle. Claire heard Felix gasp in amazement behind her, and she nodded in agreement as she looked around.

"Wow, no wonder Bidoof wanted to take a crystal from this place," she commented. "I just wonder what we need to do here…"

Rin tilted her head to the side as she thought it over. "Well, in the other two lakes…the path was hidden, right? So we probably have to do something special here, too…"

"Yep!" Iris nodded. "I don't see anything too obvious. Now we just need to figure out what the trick is."

Claire nodded as well as she took a few steps forward. Those big crystals seemed pretty important, so maybe they had to do something with them? Her question was answered when she heard a crackling sound, followed by a yelp of surprise from Felix.

He'd curiously touched one of the crystals, and there were a few sparks flashing around it. There was something odd about the crystal itself, too… It almost seemed to be _brightening_. No, it _was_ brightening, Claire realized—it had been orange before, but now it was yellow instead.

"W-well, I guess now we know what this does," Felix muttered, eyes still wide. "I wonder if the others do that, too…"

"I'll try this one," Claire offered.

She walked over to the one closest to her and rested her paws on it. This one changed, too; after a few seconds, it faded from blue to purple. Iris eagerly ran over to the third one and tapped it as well; it quickly changed from red to orange. Well, that confirmed that all three crystals did the same thing.

However, she was soon distracted by an all-too-familiar headache. Claire gritted her teeth as the edges of her vision went white. She was getting another Dimensional Scream—which was quite handy, all things considered.

* * *

_"__It seems they all need to be blue. That opens a path to the lake."_

_"__A lake? There's a lake here, too?"_

_"__Yes, there is. Here, why don't you see what you can find?"_

* * *

That one had just been voices, much like the one she'd gotten back at the Groudon statue. But there was something different about them… These voices belonged to different people (or Pokémon), Claire could tell.

And yet…there was something familiar about them. It was right there on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't quite name them, either. There was an almost wistful feeling accompanying the not-quite-memory, and Claire closed her eyes and shook her head.

She'd just gotten something helpful—so why did she feel sad all of a sudden?

"Oh, Claire! Did you see something again?"

Claire opened her eyes and blinked. Iris was looking at her intently; the Cacnea had obviously realized she'd gotten a Dimensional Scream. At her comment, Felix and Rin glanced over at her as well.

"Yeah, uh…I think I know what we need to do," she replied.

Curiously, she touched the crystal again and waited for it to turn blue. Then, she walked over to the other two and tapped them a couple of times. Finally, they all became the appropriate color. A loud rumbling sound echoed from somewhere deep beneath them, and the tips of the crystals started sparking with energy.

"W-we should all move!" Felix shouted over the din. "Hurry, Claire!"

She nodded as everyone scrambled back towards the chamber's entrance. Once the rumbling died down, she looked back over at the crystals. A larger gemstone with an entrance carved into it had appeared in the middle of the room, and there was a staircase beneath it. That probably led further into the dungeon, and Claire carefully took a few steps forward.

"I was right!" she mused aloud. "They _did_ need to be blue."

"Yeah!" Iris cheered. "Now let's hurry and get to the lake. Come on!"

Everyone grinned as they headed towards the crystalline doorway. Claire's heart was pounding in her chest now; they were so close to Azelf that it was hard not to be nervous. She could only hope that they didn't get there too late…hopefully Grovyle would still be there.

At least now she had something else to focus on, and it was easier to put the lingering sense of sadness in the back of her mind. Claire didn't know what could've possibly happened to make this place upset her, but…she would do her best to ignore the feeling.


	18. More News

**Author's Note:** One more Team Aura Blade and Skorupi chapter, featuring Super Vindicated Kerry, Chew Toy Maryn, and Crushing Skorupi. Wonderful!

* * *

**More News**

Well, that had…certainly been something.

Kerry stared at the guild's recruit—Sunflora—who had just delivered the news. Everyone had heard about the exploration team who'd gone missing after Dusknoir had returned to the future, of course. That had been the talk of Treasure Town for a couple weeks. But, to have the mystery solved like this…

Well, it was a lot to take in at once.

"So, like—we're gonna help them find the Hidden Land!" Sunflora finally broke the silence. "So if anybody hears about it, you've gotta tell the guild! Eek!"

The other patrons of the café started chattering amongst themselves. It was hard to tell how many of them fully believed Sunflora, but Kerry supposed that was fair. Everyone had thought Dusknoir was a hero, after all. Having that viewpoint challenged—and to hear just how bad _his_ future actually was—would take a while to process.

Still, Kerry nodded and smiled at the other Grass-Type. "All right, Sunflora. We'll do what we can."

"Okay! Thanks, Sceptile. Now, oh my gosh—I have to make sure everyone left to tell the guardians already, and…and…_eek_!"

With that, Sunflora dashed out of the café, waving her leaves around frantically as she went. Kerry watched her for a few seconds before turning towards Maryn with a grin on her face. The Lucario had been seated next to her the whole time, and he pursed his lips and looked away from her.

"Well, Maryn? Do you have anything to say?"

He grumbled under his breath before admitting, "Fine, you were right. I guess that Grovyle wasn't so bad after all."

An uncharacteristically teasing tone made its way into Kerry's voice as she added, "I believe the correct phrase here is _'I told you so,'_ correct?"

"I said you were right! Stop rubbing it in!"

Kerry laughed gently as she turned to Skorupi; goodness, that had been oddly satisfying. At any rate, the small bug had been silent throughout Sunflora's story, and she still had a star-struck look on her face. Skorupi finally shook herself out of it, practically bouncing around on the table as she spoke up.

"I knew it! I _knew_ he was cool! Grovyle's actually a _hero_." She sighed dreamily before going on. "I hope I get the chance to see him again before they all leave. I have to tell him how cool he is."

Kerry shook her head. "You do that, Skorupi. Ah—watch your drink, dear."

Skorupi narrowly avoided smashing her tail into her cup of Pink Gummi juice, and she blushed as she scuttled into a better position. She tried to hide her face by taking a drink, but Kerry could tell that her blush had deepened even further.

Ah, that really was sweet. Kerry smiled as she took a sip of her Grass Gummi shake. She supposed Skorupi's admiration was deserved, and Kerry was happy to know her assumptions had been right. Grovyle really was better than they'd all thought he was, and now…the world could be depending on his actions.

She wasn't sure how much she and Maryn could contribute, but Kerry hoped he succeeded nonetheless.


	19. Learning

**Author's Note:** Hey, you want some more Darkrai? Here's some more Darkrai! Along with a couple of headcanons on the Relic Fragment, and a character who I'm actually pretty sad only shows up in this chapter. Maybe I'll figure out something more to do with him eventually, but he's really mostly here to explain who the present Dimensional Scream user is and why he doesn't show up in the fic proper.

* * *

**Learning**

It had taken months of searching, but Darkrai finally found the second part of his "proof."

In a cave near the beach, he found a small stone with a certain intricate pattern carved onto its surface. It looked just like a smaller version of the mural on Brine Cave's wall. That had to be it.

Darkrai carefully approached it and reached out to pick it up. For a few seconds, the stone refused to budge. Then, the pattern on its surface faintly glowed, and he was able to pick it up.

_There_. Darkrai smirked to himself as he carried it out of the cave. Now, he just had to make his way back to Brine Cave and see what happened.

* * *

_It could sense a deep determination within the heart of its current holder. The Relic Fragment could not discern his motives, but it knew he was intelligent and motivated. He would be a worthy holder for the time being._

* * *

"So, does this mean you'll take me to the Hidden Land now?"

Darkrai's tone of voice was smug when Lapras arrived in Brine Cave's far chamber. He'd laid the stone in front of the mural, and a beam of light had shot out of the wall's center. The Water-Type eyed him warily, and there was obvious distrust in his voice when Lapras spoke up.

"I don't like this one bit," he replied. "How did you find Dialga's key? Regardless…he would be displeased with me if I did not take its holder to meet him. Fine. I'll show you the way. But be aware…should you prove to be a threat…Dialga _will_ do something about it."

"That's more than fine with me," Darkrai sneered.

Lapras responded with little more than a cool stare as Darkrai perched on his shell. It didn't matter what happened as long as he got there. He had two goals: learn how to damage the tower, and figure out how to travel back and forth between time periods. As long as he didn't make the first goal too obvious before he completed the second, he would be all right.

Now all he had to do was wait.

* * *

Darkrai made his way through the Hidden Land and Temporal Tower once he arrived. It was nothing too difficult, but it would've been easier had he been able to use his full powers. But, no, he reminded himself; he had to be on his best behavior for as long as possible.

When he finally arrived at the tower's summit, he found Dialga conversing with a human. That was unusual—Darkrai had only seen one or two other humans before. And here was another one, in the Hidden Land of all places.

The two of them turned to face him when he approached, and Darkrai bowed lightly. He extended a hand and held out the patterned stone as he spoke.

"Excuse me, sir," he began. "This sigil is yours, correct? I've been doing my research, and I would like to help you, if you'll take me."

"Your kind is an unusual sight here, Darkrai," Dialga replied slowly, his voice deep and booming and powerful. It held a hint of judgment, and Darkrai knew he would have to be careful. "They usually remain hidden. And you would come here to me and offer yourself like this?"

"Of course; is that so wrong? Must I be chained to my species' reputation? I would like to prove that we may be useful instead of harmful. If there is anything you can teach me to accomplish that goal, I would gladly learn it."

The speech was somewhat rehearsed; he'd mulled over things to say on the way up the tower. Dialga peered down at the human, and Darkrai watched them carefully for a few seconds. Finally, the human shrugged.

"I think letting him go would worry you more than keeping him would, Master Dialga," he said. "And if you find it necessary…I can use my Dimensional Scream to ease your worries."

"All right." Dialga nodded before looking back down at Darkrai. "I will accept your offer. But be warned that Christopher will know if you are up to anything."

"Of course." Darkrai raised his eyes, doing his best to look appreciative. "You have nothing to worry about."

Still…he eyed the human cautiously. That wasn't something he'd expected, and he'd have to watch out until he knew how this ability of Christopher's worked. But until then…he was there, and that was all that mattered.

* * *

The following months passed slowly. Darkrai came and went from the Hidden Land, learning its history and purposes from Dialga. He learned how Temporal Tower had been constructed, what its strengths and weaknesses were, and how it could be supported by the Time Gears in times of necessity.

The Time Gears…most Pokémon had heard of those, of course. They were said to regulate the time flow in their regions, and Dialga confirmed that to be true. But this secondary purpose could prove to be important. If they did repair the tower, as Dialga said…he'd have to do away with them once he accomplished his plans.

Christopher still didn't trust him completely. It was after a lesson in building Dimensional Holes that the blond man approached him.

"Master Dialga may believe you, but I don't," he announced sharply. "He was excited that someone would want to learn about his legends, but I think you're just playing on that eagerness to teach."

"Oh? And what would you do about it if I wasn't trustworthy, human?"

Christopher didn't reply beyond grabbing Darkrai by the arms. Before he could wonder what was going on, he saw Christopher's eyes go out of focus. His lips parted slightly, and he stood there in silence for a few seconds. Finally, Christopher shook his head and stepped back, releasing his grip on the Dark-Type.

"I know what you're planning. The Dimensional Scream showed me," he replied. "I'm going to alert Master Dialga. _Now_."

Christopher turned on his heel and stormed off. Darkrai stood in silence for a few seconds before quickly melting into the shadows. He had to act—he had to do it now. He'd hoped to get in a little more practice with Dimensional Holes, but he couldn't wait any more.

The Dimensional Scream… Dialga had mentioned giving it to Christopher's family. It was something Darkrai would have to keep in mind. Should Christopher have any children, they could pose a threat if the ability worked backwards as well as forwards.

For now, his priority was to weaken Temporal Tower. Darkrai knew the weakest points were near the top, but he didn't want to attract too much attention. While the base of the tower was the strongest part, he'd be harder to spot down there, too.

Darkrai reemerged near the base of the tower. _There_…he carefully ran a hand along the wall. If he could dig in here, that would give him a good indication of how sturdy the material was. He extended his claws, raked across the stone…

Yes; Darkrai nodded as he moved back. There were noticeable tears in the tower's stone walls. He should probably attack a few other spots, too, though. As he flitted upwards, Darkrai kept an eye out for Dialga. The dragon usually stayed on the pinnacle, but if he went any lower today, he could spot Darkrai at any time. Still, he found another of the sensitive points and chipped out a few pieces of the wall. That was much better—one of the holes stopped just short of going all the way through.

Darkrai quickly melted into the shadows when he heard Dialga's rumbling footsteps. Maybe Christopher had found him already. He wanted to do a little more damage, just to be sure; he couldn't get caught now.

He found another spot near the middle, and then one near the top. Darkrai pulled back, satisfied with his handiwork. Subtle, but effective; some of the damage was noticeable, but it could be chalked up to the elements if necessary. Now, he had to get out of the Hidden Land, and he made his way back to Lapras.

In his haste to leave, Darkrai failed to realize that he'd dropped his stone "key."

When he noticed later, he supposed it didn't matter. Darkrai had accomplished what he'd set out to do; he didn't need it anymore.

* * *

_It had failed at its one duty. The Relic Fragment had picked a poor owner, and it had let a dangerous Pokémon into the Hidden Land._

_It had to pick carefully now. It had to find a Pokémon capable of undoing the damage. One that had a kinder, more docile nature._

_It eventually found one that exuded an aura of gentleness. Shaky hands picked it up from its spot buried in the beach's sands, and the fingers brushed away the grit covering its surface. There was timidity in the touch, but deep below, there was the steady beat of a soft heart. He may need some help getting there, but it could sense that he was eager to improve himself._

_Its pattern glowed. It had found its new owner._

* * *

The effects were gradual. At first, Dialga didn't seem to notice or change.

But slowly, ever so slowly, Dialga became snappier and more impatient. He wouldn't listen to Christopher's words, and he was far more likely to resort to force when angered.

"You will just betray me, Christopher," he finally growled. "Just like the other one did! You were just here to enable him, all along!"

Christopher scrambled backwards, narrowly avoiding the Metal Claw. His breath was ragged, and he looked desperately up at the giant dragon. There was no trust in those eyes—not anymore.

He had to get out of there. _Now_. Christopher fled as Dialga roared wildly at him. He found his partner—a Salamence named Heath—on the floor below, climbed onto his back, and ushered him out of the area.

Until Christopher figured out what was going on…he couldn't stay in the Hidden Land any longer.


	20. Child Care

**Author's Note:** Since not much of the post-game made it into the main fic, I figured I should at least do something with Manaphy over here. This'll probably be it unless I can think of a creative way to redo some of the other parts of his subplot, but cute things are always good. We needed something cute to counteract the Darkrai stuff last chapter, obviously. Plus, there are two confirmed character ages here, which is a thing.

* * *

**Child Care**

Claire smiled as she watched Manaphy splash around in the shallow water near the beach's shore. He really was adorable, she thought. The fresh air seemed to be doing him good, and they'd all figured that he'd enjoy getting to play in the water, too.

They'd only had him for about two or three days now, but everyone had adjusted to his presence pretty well. While they'd had to put exploring aside for the past few days, Claire was more than fine with that. Manaphy came first, especially if his species was as rare as Chatot had said. Claire did like having him around, and they needed to learn as much as they could about him.

"Claire! Felix! Everyone! Look, look!" Manaphy babbled eagerly.

Claire looked down at the patch of sand he'd settled in. Manaphy had started pushing the sand into a pile; maybe he was trying to build something?

She blinked. "Oh, do you want to build a sand castle, Manaphy?"

He tilted his head to the side as he stared at her. "Sand castle?"

"Yeah!" Claire nodded. "Here, let's show you how to make one."

She started gathering a pile of sand herself, and Felix quickly joined her. As they built it, Claire could see Bruce and Rin going somewhere out of the corner of her eye. She could ask them later, she supposed.

Soon, they'd gathered a big enough pile of sand into a rough castle shape. Claire nodded as she and Felix moved back, and Manaphy looked at it in wonder. He clapped excitedly and twirled through the air as he moved back.

"Yeah! Sand castle, sand castle!" he cheered.

Iris grinned. "So let's help you build one, yeah?"

Manaphy nodded, and they were halfway through building his castle when Bruce and Rin returned. They'd gathered a small pile of twigs, and Rin was carrying all of them. She set the pile down between the two sand castles as Bruce spoke up.

"We thought we could use them for flags," he explained. "Some of them still have leaves on them, so they'd work pretty well for that. And if we stay out late enough, Felix could use them to light a fire."

"Yeah, that sounds good," Claire agreed. "Here, let me show you, Manaphy."

She plucked one of the twigs from the pile and stuck it into her own sand castle. Manaphy looked at it for a few seconds before nodding eagerly.

"Yeah, yeah! Claire! I want one!"

She laughed before grabbing another one for Manaphy. He took it from her and stuck it into his lopsided pile of sand. Then, he nodded proudly and clapped again.

"I think he likes it," Felix commented, smiling.

"You think? I mean…he kind of reacts that way to everything," Iris commented, snorting. "And besides, I told you, Manaphy! Claire is _Mom_."

"He doesn't have to call me that if he doesn't want to," Claire replied, giggling.

Rin sighed. "I still don't know why you insist on being 'Dad', Iris. Wouldn't that make more sense for Felix or Bruce?"

Claire shrugged. "It's not like I care who's 'Dad'. I'm fine with anyone, really."

"See? Besides, can either of them do _this_?" Iris raised her arms into a flexing position before looking over at Manaphy. "Hey, Manaphy! Come here and hang on."

He quickly floated over to Iris and grabbed onto her arm. Then, the Cacnea spun around in a circle, and Manaphy laughed as he whirled through the air. Rin shook her head as Iris came to a stop, and she grinned proudly.

"I doubt either of them could lift him for that long," she replied smugly. "I'm the strongest one here, so I should be _Dad_."

"Well, to be fair, I don't even have arms." Bruce shook his head. Then, he turned to Claire and added, "I wouldn't mind playing 'Dad' for you otherwise. But as long as everyone's having fun, I guess it doesn't matter."

"See?" Iris said again. "Besides, Felix can't be 'Dad' either. He's practically a baby, too."

"W-what?" Felix sputtered. "No I'm not!"

"Yeah, you are! You're what, like…three, or something?"

"Add eleven to that!" Felix huffed, folding his arms.

"Yeah, so you're three," Iris insisted.

Rin shook her head as Felix huffed at Iris again. "And _you_ act younger than _he_ does, despite being five years older…"

"At least I know how to have fun," Iris shot back. "You're younger than I am, but you act like a total grandma. Anyway! Manaphy, come on! Let's go back to the water."

Manaphy nodded before eagerly diving into the shallows again. Claire giggled and shook her head as she looked at everyone else's incredulous stares. Well, Iris _was_ good at entertaining the young Pokémon, so she supposed the Cacnea had a point. As long as they kept an eye on Manaphy, they'd be all right.

By the time they brushed themselves off and headed back to the bluff, Claire was admittedly worn out. Still, they'd had plenty of fun, and she just hoped they could keep doing this for a while.


	21. Quicksand Desert

**Author's Note:** Here's one that stems entirely from the fact that we have two party members who hail from the Northern Desert. It makes sense that Rin and Iris would be the ones to figure out how to get past the quicksand pools, really. (Also, I guess this would logically take place right before the Grimy Food chapter.)

* * *

**Quicksand Desert**

Claire frowned as she looked at the desert stretched out in front of her. They'd come out here like Dusknoir had told them, but…it looked like they'd reached a dead end. All she could see were large pools of quicksand. If there was anything past that, they'd have a hard time reaching it.

"What should we do, Claire?" Felix asked anxiously. "I don't see any way to get around that quicksand…"

"Yeah…" Claire agreed, her frown deepening. "If there weren't these big rocks out here, we could figure out how far to the left and right they go, but…"

She gestured helplessly at the large boulders off to their sides. Finally, Claire just shook her head. It didn't look like there was anything else they could do.

"Maybe we should just go back to the guild," she sighed. "Maybe someone else will have had better luck than we did?"

Felix sighed as well. "Yeah… I mean, it's disappointing that we didn't find a Time Gear, but…maybe someone else did?"

"Hey, sorry we took so long!"

As Claire turned around, she saw Iris and Rin approaching them. They had gotten behind when Claire had asked them to look for extra supplies, but they'd come back empty-handed. Iris shrugged as she popped an apple out of her bag and started munching on it.

"So, did you figure out what to do?" she said between bites.

Claire shook her head. "No. We're going back. We should probably tell everyone there's no way forward here."

Iris and Rin looked at her, and then slowly glanced at each other. Claire blinked; did they know something she didn't? If they had any ideas, it would be helpful to hear… Eventually, they both just shrugged and shook their heads.

"Well, I guess we _have_ been out here for a while," Rin said. "Maybe we should go back either way."

"Yeah, if we stay out too late, we'll run out of stuff." Iris shrugged as she finished off her apple. "And we can't have that! Let's go."

They all nodded and started making their way out of the desert. Having some food and rest sounded good, Claire admitted. Still…she couldn't help looking over at Rin and Iris every so often as they walked.

What had they been thinking about earlier?

* * *

The next day, Team Shadow returned to quicksand pools. As it turned out, none of the other recruits had any luck finding the Time Gears, either. Maybe they'd all just…overlooked something? It was possible.

Claire frowned again as she looked at the area in front of her. She was getting that nagging feeling again… While the area had felt familiar yesterday, it _really_ did now. And she'd figured out how to get past the Groudon statue before… What if she could do something like that now?

"Any ideas, Claire?" Felix asked.

"Well, I'm not sure, but…maybe I could get a Dimensional Scream?" she replied uncertainly. "If I can just find a good place to do it, then…"

"Why would you need to do that?" Iris blinked. "I mean…don't you just jump?"

Claire stared at her incredulously. "What?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure you just…jump," Rin added.

Felix's mouth was agape. "Jump? Where?"

"Uh, into the quicksand?" Iris replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Claire and Felix stared at her for a few seconds before turning back to the pools in question. It sounded completely ridiculous, but…it was true that they had no other ideas. If there wasn't anything beneath the sand, though…

"Are you sure about that?" Claire asked.

"Um, yeah! I'm completely sure." Iris nodded. "We always heard there was a hidden cave out here somewhere. Every once in a while, we'd get Pokémon passing through our part of the desert who said it was beneath the ground. It must be out here!"

"We were going to tell you yesterday, but…you seemed pretty set on going back to the guild, so…" Rin shrugged as she trailed off.

"I would've tried it if you'd said something! But…I guess we can do it now, then."

Iris grinned. "All right, let's go!"

Claire took a deep breath as the four of them approached the nearest quicksand pool. It sounded counter-intuitive, but…it was the only idea they had. And it made sense that Rin and Iris would have some clues on the area… If anyone knew how to proceed, it would be them.

She closed her eyes and jumped forward, and she coughed as she started sinking down into the sand. Claire covered her mouth, trying to keep too much sand from getting into it. How much longer would they be dragged along like this?

Finally, she felt some air around her lower paws. The next thing she knew, Claire had crashed down onto solid ground, and she winced before straightening up. Soon enough, her three teammates fell down beside her, and Iris looked around proudly. They'd landed in a small cave with piles of sand scattered across the ground, and there was a hallway extending off to the side.

"I knew it!" she cheered. "I knew we were right! Now let's go find that Time Gear."

Claire grinned and nodded, and the four of them quickly scampered towards the hallway. She couldn't believe she hadn't thought of this yesterday, but it didn't matter now. As long as they were here, they had a chance of stopping Grovyle, and they needed to investigate while they could.


	22. Disappearance

**Author's Note:** Since it didn't come up in the main fic, here's Team Shadow's reactions to Claire's disappearance. I figure it'd go at least slightly different from the in-game scenes, if only because they have other official members.

* * *

**Disappearance**

The trip back to Treasure Town passed in a blur.

Lapras had congratulated them on pacifying Dialga and putting the Time Gears in their rightful place. Then, he'd asked where Claire and Leaf were. Felix hadn't been able to answer, and he'd burst into tears again. Even Iris wasn't sure what to say. Finally, Rin spoke up and quietly told him what had happened.

Claire and Leaf were gone. _Claire_. His team leader, one of his best friends, the whole reason Felix had even managed to join the guild. She was gone, and she wasn't coming back.

Maybe it was selfish. Felix knew Rin and Iris would miss her, too. To say nothing of Bruce—Claire had said that she didn't even get to say goodbye to him. He'd be upset, too. So would the other guild members. But…Felix thought it was worse for him.

Sure, he'd gotten a little more self-confidence over the past few months. He wasn't so timid and self-defeating anymore. But…without Claire, what was he supposed to do? _She_ was the reason why Felix had changed.

He curled up into a ball and sniffled once they were all on Lapras's back. Iris remained silent, a stony look on her face, as she glanced out at nothing in particular. Rin quietly put a hand on Felix's back, trying to comfort him but not saying anything herself.

And, as they descended from the Hidden Land, Felix continued to cry, unable to focus on the trip itself or what he'd do once they got back.

* * *

They were met with cheers and congratulations once they arrived back at the guild. Everyone ushered them inside—though Felix noticed the confusion on the other recruits' faces—and brought them down to the meeting room. They gathered in a circle, everyone's eyes fixed on them, and they sat quietly until someone finally spoke up.

"So, uh…where's Claire?" Bruce asked, tilting his head to the side curiously. "And Grovyle; he went with you, too, right? I mean…not that I'm not happy to see you guys, but…"

"Yeah!" Heliona nodded. "They should've come back with you, right?"

The corners of Felix's eyes started prickling again. "They…they…they're _gone_. They're not coming back."

"_WHAT_?" everyone shouted.

"It's true," Rin mumbled. "We changed the future, so…"

"If it's gone, then they are, too," Iris finished, her mouth pulling into a hard line as she spoke.

There was silence for a few seconds. All of the guild recruits simply stared at each other in shock. It seemed like such an obvious thing now, but Felix hadn't thought of it sooner, either. He closed his eyes and gripped the strap of his treasure bag, trying not to cry again. That didn't last very long—tears began streaming down his cheeks, and his sniffling was embarrassingly loud.

"But—but—she said she was coming back!" Bruce protested. "You told me _all_ of you were coming back! Why would Claire say that if she was going to…"

"I don't think she knew, either." Iris sighed. "She didn't _remember_. Leaf knew, but…I guess he thought it'd just upset us if he said something, or…"

"Of course it would have!" Bruce shouted. "But I…I still wish I could've _known_! Then I could've _said something_ to Claire, and…and…!"

The Glameow turned around and fled down the residential hallway, probably off to Team Shadow's room. Everyone else stared at him in shock. That was the first time anyone had heard Bruce raise his voice. Soon, however, Loudred spoke up—and while the recruits were used to _him_ shouting, the obviously hurt look on his face was something new.

"YEAH! That's not FAIR!" he agreed. "How come WE don't get to see her again? And THEY helped save the world! So why don't THEY get to SEE IT like everyone else does?"

And the last statement was truly set everyone off. The sheer unfairness of it all—Claire and Leaf risking their lives and getting nothing in return—was lost on no one. Everyone (even Sydney and even Chatot, Felix noted once he could see straight) had all started crying as well.

No one really had the energy to go off to their rooms. The recruits all slept in a heap out in the meeting room, but Felix vaguely noted that Bruce never came out to join them. He thought it was a bit too cruel to leave Bruce off by himself, but perhaps he didn't want to speak to them right now, anyway.

* * *

Team Shadow was at a loss for what to do for the next few weeks.

Of course, they spent a lot of time telling the residents of Treasure Town what had happened. They _had_ to spread the story—everyone needed to know about it. Their world was safe; they had hope for the future again. And, Felix silently added, it was the only way to honor Claire's memory.

Eventually, he could do it without getting choked up. He could tell more and more of the story without needing Rin and Iris to step in and finish it. But there was still that lingering throb of pain in his chest nonetheless.

When it came to exploring, though…that took a little more effort. No one felt right doing it without Claire; she'd been listed as their team's leader, after all. They _could_ go without her, but…it just felt _wrong_.

"Well," Bruce said bitterly, "I guess we don't have to decide who's staying back at the guild now. All of us can go together."

The bitterness wasn't directed at anyone specifically—not anymore. Bruce had mostly gotten over the hurt from being 'left out' at the Hidden Land. There was still some irony in the situation, though. No one had minded occasionally staying home to help out with other tasks, but it was true that they didn't have to worry about that anymore. And that felt wrong in its own way; it was something they'd gotten used to doing.

"Yeah," Felix muttered. "I guess…that's what we'll do from now on. The four of us, together. But…who should lead us?"

"I'd say Rin makes the most sense, but…" Iris sighed. "I think you should. I think that's what Claire would want."

There was another sting in his chest, but Felix nodded. "Yeah, I…I think you're right. I'll…I'll do it. From here on out, I'll…lead us on explorations."

Maybe it would help him, too. Felix knew he couldn't take Claire's place. There was too much of a void to fill. But maybe he didn't need to replace her. Maybe Felix just needed to keep trying, and…maybe his confidence would improve even more if he did well enough.

The next day, Team Shadow took their first job since coming back from the Hidden Land, and, slowly, day by day, things almost started to feel normal again.


	23. Escaping Capture

**Author's Note:** Unlike some of the other side stories, this one has an extremely narrow window of time in which it can take place: after Leaf evolves, but before he and Claire head back to the past, so some time near the end of Chapter 5 in the main fic. I mostly just wanted Leaf and Dusknoir to have another encounter, though writing some more of Andrew doesn't hurt, either.

* * *

**Escaping Capture**

Andrew carefully glanced around the clearing as he stepped forward. He'd been tasked with looking around for supplies, as usual. Claire would be heading back to the past soon, and he wanted to hurry up and get this over with. While he'd found a decent amount of firewood, he hadn't had quite as much luck with food; that usually required venturing into dungeons and hoping some appeared there, after all. This was taking way too long…

Nearby, Leaf had settled up on a tree branch and was keeping watch. Claire would need him when she went back, but the Grovyle had wanted to spend some time with Andrew while he had the chance. Besides, a lone human going out into the wilderness usually didn't fare well; Andrew needed _someone_ to come along with him.

Andrew frowned as he looked over a nearby bush. He'd hoped to maybe find some berries, but…the shrubbery out here appeared barren. Maybe he'd have to find a dungeon after all if this kept up.

He paused when he heard Leaf shift on his perch. Andrew looked up as Leaf growled and pointedly stared at a particular spot. The Grass-Type waved a claw down in Andrew's direction before hissing out a warning.

"There's something coming. Find a place to hide, now!"

Andrew nodded, throat going dry as he glanced around. Hopefully it was some random Pokémon by itself, but…if Leaf couldn't tell yet, then they had to be careful. Finally, he found a wide enough tree, not too far from where Leaf was keeping watch, and ducked behind it.

He sat down, trying to make himself as small as possible, and held his breath. Until Leaf figured out what it was, Andrew wasn't going to move. He couldn't make any noise, either. Andrew closed his eyes, trying to listen as closely as he could.

Finally, he heard footsteps—and it sounded like there were at least two members of the group. There was a slightly scratchy noise; at least one of them must've had claws. Andrew opened his eyes and frowned; the footsteps had suddenly stopped.

"Wheh-heh…I don't see anyone. Are you sure we're going in the right direction?"

"Of course I am, wheh-heh! The spot Lord Dusknoir mentioned is just past the forest nearby! We're getting close, you dolt."

So, they were specifically looking for them, then. But who was it? Andrew's frown deepened. Hadn't Claire mentioned a Dusknoir recently? There had been one when…when…

His eyes widened, and Andrew heard Leaf growl sharply above him. The Grovyle leapt down from his branch, and the two speakers yelped in surprise. Andrew carefully leaned around the tree trunk and spotted Leaf advancing on a pair of Sableye.

"You two were there at the cave, weren't you?" Leaf demanded. "Where's your leader? Is he nearby?"

"Wheh! Who are you?" One of the Sableye flailed his arms around in surprise. "We just saw a Treecko back then!"

His partner whacked the back of his head. "You really are an idiot, wheh-heh! Obviously, he found some way to evolve! And we're not gonna tell you where Lord Dusknoir is!"

"Oh, really?" Leaf raised his claws as he took a few more steps forward. "Well, I'm sure if he's nearby, he wouldn't have any use for injured minions, right? So I'm sure you'd want to avoid—"

"That's enough. Good job, you two. You got close after all."

A larger Ghost-Type had suddenly materialized behind the two Sableye. He curiously gazed down at Leaf, whose face was set in a deep scowl. Andrew slowly stood up and shifted. He needed to get Leaf out of there—three against one odds weren't good, but Andrew knew he wouldn't be much help in a straight fight. He needed to figure out a good plan, and fast.

But, if these were the same Pokémon who'd been at the cave full of crystals, then…

"So, you're the human's new partner?" Dusknoir was saying. "One of the Sableye mentioned you—he followed you out to the lake, you know."

"Well, he did a poor job of stopping us," Leaf snapped. "He didn't even keep Claire from finding her last Time Gear. You're too late. Claire's going back soon, so you've failed to catch her twice now."

"Twice? Ah, you really must be that Treecko, then." Dusknoir merely shrugged at the accusation. "And does it matter as long as I have you now? If I take you back to Master Dialga, then Claire will be going all alone, correct?"

Slowly, Andrew reached down and grabbed a small rock from the ground. He threw it out towards the middle of the clearing, and it echoed emptily as it hit the ground. It had missed all of the assembled Pokémon, but Andrew hadn't been aiming at any of them. He just needed a distraction, and that had worked. They all paused, glancing in his direction as he walked over to Leaf.

"Don't listen to them," he said to Leaf, though he kept his eyes fixed on Dusknoir. "Claire needs you, but she's already escaped from them once. I'm sure she can do it again if she has to."

"You speak so confidently, human," Dusknoir replied coolly. "Shall I take you to the prison as well? I'm sure you could be of use, too."

"I'm not even the 'good' one," Andrew retorted. "I don't even have the Dimensional Scream, so if you're trying to capture your threat, you didn't do a very good job. There's only one thing I want to ask you, anyway—are you the one who killed my mother?"

"Your mother?" Dusknoir repeated. A look of understanding flickered through his eye soon enough. "Ah, you must be that woman's son. The girl's brother, I assume. And no, that was one of the Sableye—and he's not here with me now. So, who's doing a 'poor job' now, hmm? You didn't find the right one, either."

There was something about the taunt that made Andrew snap. It wasn't the denial, really. Nor was it the fact that he'd been refused 'proper' revenge. No, it was the casual way he said it. Andrew found himself raising a fist and charging towards Dusknoir until—

"Oh, Andrew, dear, this really is unlike you!"

There was suddenly a small hand on his shoulder, and Andrew breathed heavily as he lowered his arm. Celebi had materialized next to him, and the other four Pokémon looked at her in surprise. She giggled as she twirled around in the air, settling near Leaf as she spoke.

"You silly darlings were taking so long to come back that we got worried! I came out to find you, and what do I see?" Celebi sighed and shook her head. "You get yourselves into such trouble, don't you?"

"Which is something I appreciate," Dusknoir commented, a smirk crossing his stomach. "It brought you to me, did it not? I may not have the correct human, but she needs you to open the gate for her. If I can capture you now, Celebi, then she won't be a threat regardless."

"Oh, Dusknoir, dear? You forget one thing…you can't catch me," Celebi sang. "Andrew, Leaf…be good boys and hang onto me now, won't you?"

Andrew quickly grabbed onto Celebi, and Leaf scrambled onto Andrew's shoulder. After he touched a claw to Celebi's head, they were all together. Then, Celebi closed her eyes and started to glow, and there was an awful twisting sensation in the pit of Andrew's stomach.

"No, stop them, you fools!" Dusknoir snarled. "Go on—catch them now before—"

"Wheh! Yes, Lord Dusknoir!"

The two Sableye dashed towards them, and Andrew's breath hitched in his throat. They were getting closer—_too_ close—and—

Celebi hummed as the light around her intensified, and the three of them vanished just before the Sableye would've reached them. Teleporting still felt terrible, though, and Andrew didn't think he'd ever get used to it. He wheezed and staggered around awkwardly as they reappeared in their new destination. At least they'd gotten out of that all right, but…

"Oh, you two," Celebi chided as she fluttered away from them. "What _will_ I do with you? You go out for a quick supply run, and you get yourselves into a mess!"

"Well, excuse us, Celebi," Leaf groaned. "Did you expect me to sit by and restrain myself so soon after…well, you know?"

"It would've helped, yes." Celebi sighed and shook her head. "But…I can't say I blame you, either. Now, come on; Claire's waiting for us. I'll let you have a short rest, dear Leaf, but we should make our way to the Passage of Time as soon as you're ready."

Leaf nodded, and Andrew bit his lip. With Dusknoir searching for them, they'd have to move quickly. Still…this would be the last time he'd see Claire, and Andrew wished he could've prolonged the trip somehow.

Eventually, he shook his head as well. He knew there was no use in putting it off. They were so close, and Andrew couldn't be selfish now.

But…he glanced over his shoulder as Leaf sat down nearby. If he ran into that Dusknoir again…well, it would take a lot more willpower to hold himself back.


	24. Flashes of Detail

**Author's Note:** You know how way back in one of the early side stories, I said I'd accidentally made a minor plot hole? Well, it was around here that I realized it made no sense for Andrew to be able to understand Pokémon, since I'd tied that to the Dimensional Scream in the main fic. And, of course, I'd also said that Andrew didn't have it. Solution? He's got an extremely weakened version that can't get full visions, but still gives him a few of the minor parts of it. So, there are two in a row that feature Andrew and Dusknoir in some way, but I wanted to go ahead and get this one out. (The three people he mentions are other members of the Planetary Investigation Team, for the record.)

* * *

**Flashes of Detail**

Andrew frowned. "You know, Dusknoir, there's something I don't understand."

Dusknoir blinked at him. "Yes?"

"It's just…wouldn't Dialga want someone a little more…_imposing_ for his main enforcer? I mean, you do look like…" Andrew idly gestured at him. "…well, that, but you're a little on the…_small_ side."

"I…beg your pardon?!"

It had been about a week or two since time had been fixed, and Dusknoir had visited the hut Andrew and his friends called home a couple times now. Admittedly, he still wasn't comfortable with Dusknoir, but Andrew was starting to get used to him. And it was during his current visit that Andrew decided to ask the question.

"I mean…" Andrew shrugged and went on. "I'm taller than Gregory and Eliza and Harriet, but…you're still not _that_ much bigger than I am. Wouldn't someone a bit larger be more intimidating?"

"Well, I suppose you have a point, but…I'm not—"

"Yes, you are. Let's go find Jirachi or Celebi. Maybe they can take us somewhere, and we can look for some other Dusknoir, and…"

Andrew grabbed Dusknoir by the arm midway through his reply, and he suddenly paused. There was a very, very faint tugging sensation in the back of his head. He stopped mid-step, idly glancing down at his hand. Dusknoir paused as well, staring at him curiously.

"Are you all right?"

Andrew shook his head and let go of him. What had that been about? Why had touching Dusknoir given him a headache? It didn't make any sense.

"Oh, Andrew, dear! Dusknoir! We're back!" Celebi suddenly sang.

She, Jirachi, and Leaf had gone out to New Treasure Town to buy some food for dinner. Andrew and Dusknoir had stayed back at the hut while they'd been gone. He frowned and idly waved at the trio, and Celebi quickly caught his confused expression.

She curiously cocked her head to the side. "What is it, Andrew?"

"He—" Andrew gestured at Dusknoir— "gave me a headache when I touched him. And I can't figure out why."

The four Pokémon slowly exchanged glances. That was even weirder, he thought. Did they know something he didn't? Fortunately, Leaf spoke up a moment later.

"Claire and Michelle always said that happened when they got Dimensional Screams," he explained. "Did you see anything?"

"No. You know I don't have it, right?" Andrew's frown deepened. "It was just a headache, and only for a few seconds. No vision, no sounds. Nothing."

"Hmm…" Jirachi idly rubbed his chin after setting down his basket full of berries. "Maybe…you know how Michelle thought the Dimensional Scream didn't exist? And she only ever got it around Time Gears? Maybe you have some kind of…weakened version of it, or…something."

"That's right." Leaf nodded, a look of understanding dawning on his face. "Wasn't it supposed to be stronger before? Claire did say she got a few visions unrelated to the Time Gears back in the past, where time was flowing properly…"

"I don't see what that has to do with me." Andrew sighed. "How would we even test something like that, anyway?"

"Maybe take you out to some more places?" Celebi suggested. "We could see if you get anything out there! Even if it's just some kind of faint signal! It might not be full visions, but you could still tell if _something_ important happened there. Right?"

Andrew shrugged. It made sense, but…it seemed impractical. What could he really do with something like that? Celebi was probably just trying to make him feel better. But…at least it was possible he hadn't been completely left out of his family's powers. He'd had to wait this long to find it out, and it sounded limited, but it was better than nothing.

Andrew would probably never get full visions, but…if nothing else, it explained why he'd always been able to understand Pokémon. If there was some faint trace of his family's powers there after all, that one would be the easiest one to manifest.

"Anyway, what triggered it?" Jirachi offered. "You probably just need specific situations to set it off. If we can figure that out, then we can decide how to test you later!"

"Oh, it was…" Andrew glanced over at Dusknoir again. "I had been asking him about his size, and then he got defensive, and then I suggested we find you and get a comparison."

Celebi grinned, her eyes glinting mischievously. "Oh? I can assure you, I've seen several others of his species, and our dear Dusknoir here is _below average_ in height. Not a whole lot—I _have_ seen smaller—but he's certainly not as large as he could be."

Dusknoir groaned and rested his face in his hands, prompting laughter from everyone else. Then, Andrew scratched his neck as something occurred to him.

"Then maybe…what I felt was…you had a memory regarding that, and I was trying to pick up on the scene. Does that sound right?"

"Possibly!" Celebi nodded. "Oh, here—touch me! My species _is_ related to time, so it might be easier for you to get something from me."

"Well, all right, but…"

Andrew hesitantly stepped forward and placed a hand on her head. Nothing happened for a few seconds, but then he got that slight burning sensation in the back of his head again. And, when he closed his eyes, he could very faintly see two blurry pink and yellow shapes. They were small, but they vaguely looked like Celebi and Jirachi. Then, there were two more silhouettes; one was purple and somewhat spiky, while the other was larger and gray.

He stepped backwards and blinked. The scene faded quickly, and he glanced around at everyone before going on.

"There was no sound, and everything was just kind of…blobs of color," Andrew explained. "But…I think I saw Celebi, Jirachi, Dusknoir, and a Sableye?"

"Ah…" Celebi bit her lip as she looked at the two others in question. "I think he might've seen…the time I met Jirachi…"

She, Jirachi, and Dusknoir were silent for a few seconds. Then, Celebi shook herself and fluttered over to the basket she'd carried in. She'd brought a collection of seeds and a loaf of bread, and she began sorting through the food as she went on.

"Anyway!" she said, though Andrew could tell she was trying a bit harder than usual to sound cheery. "We know that Andrew has something now. Maybe not a 'proper' Dimensional Scream, but this is good! We'll let you practice more later, but I'm sure everyone's hungry."

Andrew nodded as he walked over to help her. He _was_ hungry, and he did feel better now. They could work out all the details after they ate.

Honestly, he could barely focus on the food—by the time dinner was ready, Andrew was more excited than he could ever remember being.


	25. Family Time

**Author's Note:** I'd like to thank catflowerqueen for letting me borrow her characters, Team Rainbow, for this chapter... And I should also apologize for putting them in _this_ chapter. 90 percent of the reason this one exists is so I could set up a punchline about Ludicolo's dance sequence, and the other 10 percent is just to properly canonize the fact that Felix and Paula are related. But not to worry; I have a "proper" follow-up to this that will get posted as a stand-alone either later today or some time tomorrow. Anyway, enough chatting; Iris being Iris is always fun, so here's the chapter.

* * *

**Family Time**

Claire smiled as the rest of her team followed her into Spinda's Café. Felix had taken them out to a family gathering about two weeks ago, and they were meeting up with one of his cousins again here. There had been…_some_ chaos at the reunion, but it had overall been a good time, so Claire was looking forward to this little hangout.

"It's too bad we only get to hang out with _one_ of your cute cousins this time," Iris commented as they snagged a table. "I had so much fun getting to know them at the reunion!"

Felix groaned. "Iris, I think it's best if you avoid Ricky from now on… Besides, we can't take up too much space in the café, either."

Rin had nodded emphatically at Felix's first comment, while Bruce shuddered at the second one.

"Yeah, I'd really prefer small numbers if possible," he muttered. "I wanted to meet Sydney here for drinks the day after we got back, but I was still too much of a frizz ball to go anywhere in public…"

Claire winced. "Yeah, sorry about that… We should've been paying more attention to you. Anyway, I'll get everyone's drinks."

They all nodded, and Claire dug through her bag as she went over to the bar. Once she arrived, she handed the appropriate gummis to Spinda. Given the amount of drinks he had to make, Claire hoped it would give everyone else time to show up.

Spinda set the shakes down on a tray once he was done. Claire grinned and nodded at him as she accepted the tray, and she carefully took it back to their table. She glanced around as she set the drinks down. There was no sign of Paula, but—

"Well, lookee there! If it's not my _favorite_ baby sister. How you doing, kid?"

A Cacturne had just entered the café, and his eyes fell on Iris. Her eye twitched at the comment, and she ignored the drink Claire just handed her as she hissed at him. He strode over to the table, patting Iris on the head as he went on.

"It's been so long, we almost thought you were dead or something! Didn't you get the memo? Mom and Dad wanted everyone to come out for a visit soon, and we can't have it without the baby of the family present!"

"_SHUT UP, ELLIOT! STOP CALLING ME THAT!_"

Iris stepped away from the table, stretching her arms as she moved towards her brother. Elliot grinned as he stepped backwards, though he was looking around awkwardly like he expected someone to come help him. Claire—along with Felix, Bruce, and most of the other café's patrons—just blinked in confusion as the scene played out, however. Meanwhile, Rin sighed and shook her head, though no one was paying attention to the Cubone right now.

"And why shouldn't I?" Elliot laughed nervously. "You _are_ the baby of the family! Just because you joined an exploration team like Barrett doesn't make you a grown-up!"

"_OH, YEAH_?! WELL, YOU'RE NOT MUCH BETTER!" Iris shouted. "COULD A BABY DO _THIS_?!"

Iris proceeded to grab Elliot by the feet and lift him over her head—which was honestly kind of impressive, given she was a third of his size. Elliot flailed around and babbled out useless apologies as she flung him away from her. Then, he crashed into the back wall with enough force to create a small hole. As Elliot tried to sit up, Ludicolo and his team of Bellossom peeked through the splintered boards, looking baffled. It was _their_ job to burst through the wall, after all!

Iris didn't seem to notice, however. Nor did she notice the stares the other patrons were giving her. Instead, she merely wore a smug look on her face as she walked back over to Team Shadow's table. After taking a sip of her Grass Gummi shake, Iris grinned and sighed.

"Well, _that_ was satisfying! I'm glad we came here today."

"Uh…did someone get a big win at the lottery?"

Claire blinked again as she heard another voice. Paula—Felix's Pikachu cousin—had just arrived at the café, and she was gawking at the hole in the wall. Her Treecko partner curiously peered around her, trying to get a better look at the scene. Then, she stared at Paula and shook her head.

"Oh, right. The hole would be bigger if Ludicolo and everyone came out, right?" Paula frowned. "So, then, what…"

"Oh, I assure you it's _far_ more stupid than that," Rin groaned. "And you don't want to know. Anyway…"

"Uh…" Paula shrugged before coming over to their table with her friend in tow. "Okay. Anyway, sorry we're late! How's everyone been? I'm still sorry about that, Bruce—oh, Laura, here's our Gummis. Do you mind getting our drinks?

Laura nodded and took the offered Gummis (though Claire noted with some confusion that one of them was _White_ instead of _Grass_). Still, the distraction was a welcome one, even if Iris seemed to be feeling better now. The chat soon turned to more amiable topics, though Claire eventually spotted Elliot dashing out of the café with a look of sheer terror in their direction.

…Well, she supposed that whenever they went to meet up with Iris's family, they'd have to be careful about keeping her on her best behavior.


	26. A Chance Encounter

**Author's Note:** I just wanted to write out how Claire's parents met Celebi. This would take place after Celebi and Jirachi met, but before Claire and Andrew (and Jack, too, I guess) were born. The former means that we're running off "if nobody cares about Jirachi anymore, it's unlikely that they'll bother looking in Star Cave" logic again here. Anyway, Celebi's always fun to write, and, hey! Claire's dad has a name now! That's a thing.

* * *

**A Chance Encounter**

Celebi hummed as she flitted through Dusk Forest. She knew it was risky to spend so much time here, what with its (relative) proximity to Temporal Tower. Still, it was one of her favorite areas. Even if it weren't for the Passage of Time, she'd always liked forests. Maybe it was just because she was a Grass-Type, or maybe it was because the trees gave her plenty of places to hide if she needed to.

Whatever the reason, she found herself settling on a tree branch near the halfway point of the forest. Celebi had picked up an apple on the way, and she was hungry. She winced as she took a bite; while food occasionally appeared in dungeons, it was generally stale and unappetizing. Honestly, it was a miracle they had food here at all when she thought about it, so Celebi really shouldn't complain…but…

At any rate, she managed to eat the whole thing, and she nodded to herself as she swallowed the last bite. Then, Celebi tossed the core to the ground, and her wings twitched as she stretched. Just a bit farther now, and she could check on the passage. Celebi knew that Primal Dialga would sense it if she tried to go back too far, but…every so often, she liked to check and see if the passage still worked. Small trips usually escaped notice, and maybe someday she'd find somebody who could do something about all this.

…Well, 'some_day_' wasn't quite the right word, Celebi thought bitterly. She sighed as she fluttered towards the path leading further into the forest. Her parents had told her about 'days' and 'weeks' and 'years,' and they sounded interesting. She would've loved to experience them for herself, unlikely as that was to happen.

_Wait_. Celebi paused; she thought she heard something. She quickly ducked behind a tree, and then she carefully peered around it. Her eyes widened when the source of the footsteps became obvious.

Were those…_humans_? They were nearly as rare as her species was now, but there were two of them standing there in the clearing. How had two of them gotten here? Celebi had seen a couple other humans from a distance before, but she'd never gotten this close to one. (There was a Persian there, too; the humans had been far more interesting to her, though.)

She waited a bit longer, trying to listen to their conversation. They didn't look dangerous—they weren't really _doing_ anything—but she wanted to be sure.

"Do you really think we'll be safe here, Jameson?"

"For a little while, maybe. I mean, Primal Dialga probably won't think to look for you right beneath his nose, right?"

The Persian frowned. "Well, you have a point, but…"

Oh, were they hiding from Primal Dialga, too? In that case, maybe they had something in common. And Jirachi had helped Celebi when she'd really needed it. The least she could do was extend the same favor to someone else.

Celebi nodded again. Yes, she could talk to these humans for a bit. She wouldn't force it, and she needed to get to know them, but she could at least try.

"Hi," she said as she flew back into the clearing. "You know this is a really bad spot for that, right? Primal Dialga sends his followers here, like…all the time. I only get away with it because I can teleport when I need to."

The trio suddenly halted their conversation, staring at her with wide eyes. They didn't look too afraid—her comment had probably indicated that Celebi wasn't an _enemy_, at least—but they _were_ surprised. She doubted they'd ever seen a Pokémon like her before, if nothing else.

"But, if you're looking for someplace to hide, I can show you a few good spots," Celebi continued. "One of my friends has a cave back on the mainland, and Primal Dialga doesn't really care about him, so maybe somewhere around there would be good."

"You'd do that for a couple of strangers?" the woman said hesitantly. "I mean…I'd appreciate it if you were telling the truth, but…"

"Oh, absolutely!" Celebi replied cheerily. "Primal Dialga doesn't like me, either, see. I don't know what got him mad at you poor dears, but I know it's not a good feeling at all. So I can't just leave you out here if I can help it!"

They looked at each other for a little while, talking in hushed tones. The woman seemed to be explaining what Celebi had said to the man. She blinked; it was odd that one could understand her when the other couldn't, now that she thought about it… Soon enough, though, they nodded and turned back to her.

"Well, if you're sure, I think we'll take you up on that," the man said. "My name is Jameson. This is my girlfriend Michelle, and her Persian's name is Blitz. You are…?"

"Just Celebi is fine! Now, here. Hang on to me, and let's go!"

She positioned herself between them, and Celebi closed her eyes once they'd all grabbed onto her. The usual feeling of teleportation barely registered on her anymore, but she could hear Blitz, Jameson, and Michelle grunt in surprise as it hit them. Finally, they arrived at their destination—a plateau not too far from Star Cave—and Celebi grinned and opened her eyes.

"Sorry about that, my dears! I should've warned you," she commented sheepishly. "Anyway! Here, let me see if Jirachi's home." Celebi peeked into the nearby cave, then glanced at the trio and added, "I'll be right back! Just wait here."

They nodded, and she fluttered inside. Hardly any Pokémon came by here anymore, so it was unlikely that she or they would run into anyone. It wouldn't take Celebi too long to find Jirachi, and her three charges ought to be safe.

Besides…she wasn't sure why, but Celebi had a good feeling about them. She'd have to wait and see where this went, but Celebi was nonetheless excited about her new acquaintances, and she was sure Jirachi would be, too.


	27. Loss of Light

**Author's Note**: You want some Dusknoir? You want some angst? Good, because here's some Dusknoir angst! Really, I figured I should write this out sooner or later, considering how big of an impact Madeline's death had on him and Missy (who is probably very young here, incidentally).

* * *

**Loss of Light**

It happened in a blur, and he had trouble recalling exactly how it went down until later.

He'd always been decent at managing in their world. He would've liked to see how things were before, of course, but the darkness in and of itself didn't bother him. Maybe it was just because he was a Ghost-Type, and it was typical of most ghosts to enjoy the shadows.

Of course, there was one other reason, too. Most of the other Pokémon he'd encountered had always talked about how hopeless the world felt. Even if they couldn't figure out why, they'd all mentioned a lingering sense of confusion over the constant darkness. But not him; he'd never felt that way.

He had Madeline, and her eternal cheeriness gave him something to look forward to. And then their egg had hatched, and he had a _daughter_. Having a _family_ was so much better than he'd expected, and taking care of them gave him a reason to care. It truly made him feel like there was something worthwhile in the world.

But then all of that changed.

It had started out simply. Madeline had suggested they go out on a small trip together, which he'd happily agreed to. Missy was still very small, and she had blinked in response. She hadn't gotten to do much traveling—maybe she didn't see the appeal of it yet. Eventually, though, she nodded; going out with her parents was something she understood well enough, and that was fine for now.

Then, they passed by an old ruin. He'd been on guard, but Madeline had been oddly excited about it. She was eager to see what the inside looked like, despite his warning to be careful. And then she'd gotten ahead of him and Missy.

Sighing, he looked to see if the young Misdreavus was still close to him. Then, he cautiously floated through the entrance to the ruins. Madeline couldn't have gotten too far… Hopefully he'd catch up soon enough.

Then, there was a high-pitched scream from around the corner of the next hallway. His eye widened; that was Madeline's voice. He frantically rounded the corner, noting the wild Pokémon scrambling away from the area. None of them were stopping to help. Why weren't any of them worried about what happened? Why didn't they _care_?

Madeline was on the floor in the middle of the chamber. Blood was splattered across her midsection, and she was breathing in ragged gasps. A Metang was floating over her, his claws bloody and poised to strike again.

"You're with the trespasser?" the Steel-Type hissed. "Get out! Get out!"

Something deep and primal came over him, and he didn't entirely register his pained roar or his wild flurry of punches and Shadow Balls. The next thing he was really aware of was Metang clanging against the wall and falling to the ground. Then, he was crouching over Madeline, shaking bringing a hand to her face.

"You—you're fine," he said shakily. "You'll be fine, and we'll get you out of here, and—"

"No I'm not." She laughed weakly, coughing as more blood dripped from her wounds. "You don't have to lie to me. I-I won't…"

"Yes, you will," he insisted, his voice almost pathetically desperate by now. "We have to keep going. We'll just—"

"Just…take care of Missy for me. Please. This was…my idea. It's my fault…this happened. So don't…blame yourself. Smile…for me…Domi—"

Madeline's voice faded, and her eyes were wide and unfocused. Her body was still. He silently stared at her and refused to believe what was painfully obvious. Madeline wasn't _dead_; she couldn't be _dead_. They'd just gone out for a trip together, and she'd been so excited about it, and—

"M-mom? Where's Mom?"

And then there was Missy's voice from behind him. She'd just made her way down the hallway, and her eyes fell on her mother's prone form. And, once she started wailing, it finally sank in.

Madeline was _gone_, and there was nothing he could do about it. She hadn't even finished saying his name, and that miserable thought just topped the whole thing off. He couldn't even bear to think of his name at the moment, as pitiful as that was.

Somehow, Dusknoir managed to lift her up and carry her out of the ruins, and the next thing he knew he was staring blankly at the spot he'd buried her. He was worthless; he couldn't even protect his mate. There was no point to anything; not anymore.

But then his eye fell on Missy. He had to keep living, even if it was just for her. There were still flashes of pain; the sight of Madeline's body, the outrage that no one had stepped between her and the Metang, the _unfairness_ of it all. Maybe the world really was hopeless, after all. But…Missy couldn't lose both her parents.

That would be the most unfair thing of all, Dusknoir bitterly mused. He'd keep going, if only for her. He could at least protect _her_—keep _her_ from suffering the same fate as Madeline.

And maybe that was good enough for now.


	28. Apple Woods

**Author's Note:** One thing that always kind of bugged me a bit was the fact that you don't get a proper battle against all of Team Skull. They always could've pulled a cutscene override or something (like they did with the Grovyle fight) if the player's team needed to "actually" lose from a story perspective, after all. Anyway, that's what happened in my stories' universe: Team Shadow did fight Team Skull here, but still ended up getting in trouble with Chatot afterwards.

* * *

**Apple Woods**

Claire took a deep breath as she arrived in the farthest point of Apple Woods. The dungeon hadn't been difficult, but they'd gotten lost once or twice, so it had taken longer than it needed to. Oh, well; at least they were there now.

Chatot had sent Team Shadow to stock up on Wigglytuff's favorite Perfect Apples. They seemed to be in the right spot, as Claire quickly noticed the giant tree near the back of the clearing. The apples sprouting from its branches looked especially large and juicy, even from Claire's spot on the ground, and she was sure they tasted as good as they looked.

"All right!" Iris grinned. "This must be the place. Now we just have to get up there and—"

"Um…I don't think so."

Everyone stepped backwards as three certain Pokémon came out from behind the tree. Skuntank, Koffing, and Zubat—Team Skull. They'd been staying at the guild for the past couple days, intent on coming along on the expedition. (This was probably Team Shadow's fault for having mentioned it to Zubat and Koffing, but there was nothing they could do about it now…)

At any rate, Claire supposed it made sense that they'd heard about the Perfect Apple shortage somehow. It also made sense that they'd show up and cause trouble. Still, Claire had hoped they'd be able to finish their job.

Felix bristled at Zubat's remark. "A-and why not?"

"Because we're going to bring them to Wigglytuff instead," Skuntank replied smugly. "Obviously, chaw-haw! We need to get on his good side so we can get that expedition treasure!"

Iris rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right! This is _our_ job, so we're gonna do it. Now get out of our way!"

"Then come over here and make us!" Koffing taunted.

He spat out a Sludge Bomb at Iris, and she barely managed to dodge it. She responded with an immediate Pin Missile, and Rin followed it up with a Flamethrower. Koffing was sent flying, wheezing as he crashed into the tree. Still, he wasn't unconscious yet, and he managed to get airborne again soon.

Claire narrowed her eyes as she raised a paw, her claws sparking with electricity. Of course they wouldn't get out of this without a fight… Still, with four-against-three odds, hopefully this would go in their favor. She released the Thunderbolt in Zubat's direction, and she screeched as she tumbled through the air.

Felix gulped and took a step forward. While he looked nervous, Claire knew he was doing his best to join in anyway, and she appreciated that. He opened his mouth and started forming an Ember, but Skuntank lashed out at him with a Fury Swipes before Felix could launch the move. Yelping, Felix clutched his stomach as he stumbled backwards—Claire could make out a good deal of bloody scratches on his torso.

She hissed and leaped at Skuntank, Scratching him across the back before preparing to launch a Water Pulse. Before she could, though, Koffing tackled her off his boss. Claire gasped as she crashed into the ground, and she was too stunned to move for a few seconds.

"Claire, move!" Iris shouted.

She could hear Iris launch another Pin Missile, and Claire barely rolled out of the way in time. Koffing grunted as the attack struck him, and he fell to the ground near Claire. Somehow, Claire scrambled back to her feet, and she shot another Thunderbolt at him. Koffing's eyes slid out of focus, and Claire sighed. There, that was one of them down.

She turned around to see how the rest of the battle was going. Zubat had Felix pinned against one of the smaller trees lining the clearing, and she was striking him with repeated Wing Attacks. Claire winced when Felix crumpled into a heap; if only she hadn't gotten so distracted with Koffing, maybe she could have—

Iris yelped as Skuntank hit her with a Sludge Bomb. She stumbled around awkwardly, leaning forward and resting her arms against the ground for support. It seemed Skuntank really was as strong as Koffing had suggested; the type disadvantage didn't help, either.

Rin valiantly tried to help out with a Bonemerang, but Skuntank just turned around and blasted her with a Flamethrower. Then, he spit out another Sludge Bomb at Iris. The Cacnea couldn't take the second hit; Iris collapsed into an awkward heap on the ground.

Claire tried to lash out at Skuntank again, but she was interrupted by Zubat crashing into her. She bit down into Claire's arm, and she refused to let go even after Claire flailed her arm around to shake her off. Zubat's mouth glowed slightly, and Claire's eyes drooped as she started feeling numb. Leech Life—and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

She tried to launch another Thunderbolt at Zubat, but the attack missed and harmlessly scorched a nearby tree. Soon enough, Zubat let go of her, but she'd already drained so much of Claire's energy… Claire stumbled and fell to the ground, her vision blurry as she tried to look around.

Skuntank had finally taken care of Rin; one more Sludge Bomb was all it took. The Cubone fell backwards with a thud, and Skuntank lumbered back over to the Perfect Apple tree. Zubat fluttered over to him, and Claire could barely make out their conversation.

"All right, Zubat! You get up there and grab a few Perfect Apples. Make sure you don't leave enough for those wimps, chaw-haw! I'll get Koffing. Now let's blow this joint."

"N-no," Claire croaked as she tried to crawl forward.

There wasn't anything she could do, though. Zubat was already flying up to the higher branches of the tree, and Skuntank had grabbed Koffing and roughly lifted him onto his back. They were too late—

Her last thought before passing out was that she really, really didn't want to face Chatot when they got back to the guild.


	29. Return

**Author's Note:** This one stems from the fact that I've always thought the hero would feel out of it for a bit after coming back. Of course, the specific kind of 'out of it' stems partly from the way I set up Team Shadow, and maybe Claire would've gotten over it sooner if she and Felix were the only official members like in game canon. The other part comes from me trying to pick up on implications in the first few chapters of the main fic that Claire 1) bottles things when she does get upset, and 2) likes having a role to fill. Let's hope those weren't too subtle. Now enough chatter; here's the chapter.

* * *

**Return**

Coming back took more adjusting than Claire had thought.

She was grateful for her second chance at life, of course. Claire hadn't thought she'd return at all, so this was much better than she could've asked for. And it really had felt just like waking up; she hadn't suffered any new injuries from the whole ordeal.

Still…for her team, it had been months. They'd spent _months_ thinking she was gone, and they'd all had to adjust to that. Of course, Claire knew they didn't _like_ her disappearance, but they'd gotten _used_ to it. Team Shadow had been able to operate fine without her, and now she was just re-inserting herself into their adventures like nothing had ever happened.

"It's fine, Claire," Bruce insisted one day when he stayed back to help with sentry duty. "This is how we always did things before, right? We can do it again, no problem!"

She nodded as she watched him climb down into the sentry tunnel. Claire couldn't help thinking Bruce was just saying that to make her feel better. Still, Rin had said the same thing when she'd helped Chimecho prepare the guild's dinner a few days ago. Surely both of them couldn't be lying, right? But still…

Claire shook her head as she picked out a couple of jobs for the day. Felix eagerly agreed with the ones she'd selected; despite that, he'd led the team before, and picking jobs had been up to him. Didn't he feel bad about giving that up? It was the perfect chance for him to keep building his steadily-growing confidence, and she was taking it away from him.

But Felix was just plain incapable of hiding his feelings, too. Claire knew that. So if he seemed excited about it…then he really had to be excited, right?

She sighed as the rest of her team followed her out of the guild. Claire should have been happy—so why wasn't she?

A few days after that, she found herself out on the beach. Team Shadow had finished their duties for the day, and dinner wasn't ready yet. Claire needed a break from the guild, so she'd come out here to watch the sun set. Being out here alone in the fresh air felt nice; she could see why Felix had always come to the beach to calm down before.

Soon, she heard footsteps; slow and soft, but audible nonetheless. Claire looked out of the corner of her eye and saw Felix plodding towards her. The Chimchar smiled hopefully at her, and she nodded at the spot beside her. Felix sat down, staring out at the ocean before he spoke up.

"You know, everyone's worried about you, Claire," he said, anxiously looking over at her. "They can all tell you're out of it, you know? Even Croagunk's worried, and you know he doesn't show how he feels very often."

"Mm." Claire simply hummed in acknowledgement at the comment. She knew he had a point, but what was she supposed to say to that?

Felix fell silent again. It did make her feel bad, the way he bit his lip and glanced down at the sand. She was just making it all worse. Maybe it would've been better if she'd stayed gone.

Just like everyone else from her future must have. Claire drew her knees up to her chest and closed her eyes. She'd accepted disappearing; she'd been _ready_ for it when it happened. That was what was _supposed_ to happen. But here she was, in complete defiance of how things should've been, and she couldn't even be happy about it.

Felix's eyes widened when Claire started shaking, and he scrambled in front of her and put his hands on her shoulders. Claire squeezed her eyes shut harder and refused to look at him.

"Claire, it's okay! What…"

"I'm sorry," she croaked. "I'm not…I'm not supposed to be here. You guys don't _need_ me. It's fine. I should've stayed gone, since that's how it's _supposed_ to be, and—and you guys were fine, and now I'm just burdening you by making you adjust for me again, and—"

"Claire, we want you here," Felix replied gently. "It's not the same without you. M-maybe we don't 'need' you, but we _want_ you, and…it's really not a problem at all! So please don't say that. We really want you here! E-especially me. Okay?"

It was when Felix buried his face in her shoulder and started sobbing that Claire finally realized he was right. She slowly wrapped her arms around him, and she let herself cry as well. Maybe she should've let this out before. Maybe the only problem was her refusal to 'upset' anyone, which had just worried them all in the end anyway.

But, as they sat there on the beach together and cried, there was something within Claire that started to lighten. She was okay now, and she would be from now on. Claire was alive, somehow, and that was all that mattered.

Her team wanted her back, and she'd do her best to keep leading them for as long as she could.


	30. Training

**Author's Note:** I wanted to write something cute to make up for the last couple of downers. Look at these adorable children. I'm sure nothing bad will happen to them, ever.

* * *

**Training**

Claire watched as Leaf and Jack leaped over a pair of rotted tree trunks nearby. It would be a while until the next meeting, and Michelle had made good progress on their Time Gear investigations, so they'd all decided it was time for a break. The three of them had chosen to use their free time to play around a little bit, and they were in a small clearing not too far from home.

"I think I jumped higher than you did," Jack said proudly. "What do you think, Claire?"

Leaf merely huffed and folded his arms, and Claire couldn't help giggling at the Treecko's indignant expression. Then, she carefully looked between the two, tapping her chin and pausing for dramatic effect.

"Hmm, I think you were equal," she replied. "You better do it again, just to be sure."

The two of them nodded, and they took a few steps backwards. Then, they dashed forward again and jumped over the stumps. When they landed, they paused to catch their breaths, and the two Pokémon eagerly looked at Claire.

"Well, that time, it was definitely Leaf," she announced.

Leaf grinned in satisfaction, and Jack sulked in response. However, the Growlithe perked up soon enough. It seemed an idea had occurred to him, and he quickly spoke up.

"Oh, I know! It's not fair if we're the only ones who have to train," he said. "I mean, you gotta defend yourself, too, right? So you need to do something, Claire!"

"Come on! I'll be okay as long as I have you with me, Jack. But…hmm…let me see…"

Claire stood up and looked around. Then, her eyes fell on a few sticks floating just above the ground. She walked over to them and picked one up, examining it closely. Finally, Claire grinned and tossed it at Leaf.

He jumped, just barely catching it in time. Then, Leaf tossed the stick back at Claire, and she had to lean over to catch it. Leaf had thrown it in a rather wide arc to make up for the height difference, but she managed to grab it nonetheless. She nodded as she looked over at Jack.

"How about that? Leaf and I can do this to make sure I'm fast enough!"

Jack whined lightly. "But Claire! If you guys keep throwing that, I'm gonna wanna chase it!"

Claire giggled. "But this was _your_ idea! You wanted me to train, too, so you have to deal with it!"

Even Leaf cracked a grin at Jack's additional whine of protest. The two of them continued tossing the stick back and forth for a while, and Jack flopped over and glared at them. Still, his tail swished lightly as his eyes locked onto the stick, and Claire laughed again when she snuck a glance over at him.

She rarely went out of her way to tease people, but she had to admit that was amusing. And the stick-throwing really was helpful, too; she felt like her reflexes were slightly faster by the time they were done. They needed to do this more often, Claire thought.

And, finally, she threw the branch off in the distance—Jack barked eagerly as he chased after it. He proudly fetched it and brought it back, and Claire scratched him on the head as his tail wagged happily. …Well, they could probably stay out for a little longer before Michelle got worried. What the heck. Claire leaned down, grabbed the stick, and threw it for Jack one more time.

As he dashed off to fetch it, Claire decided they were all fine. They could have training sessions that were more on the fun side every now and then.

She was sure that nothing would ever happen to her or Jack, so they may as well relax as much as they could.


	31. Contact

**Author's Note:** Oh, hey, it's been a while since we last saw Darkrai. This is currently the last one of these I have planned for him, but I figured I should go ahead and get it out now. Anyway, since I have Darkrai actively zipping back and forth from the future, I found the prospect of him interacting with Dusknoir to be interesting, and wanted to at least give it a mention here.

* * *

**Contact**

For the most part, Darkrai had preferred to let Dialga (or 'Primal' Dialga, as he was usually called now) think that he was the one in charge. It was simpler to give him the illusion of power. As long as Dialga thought he was in control, it was easy to sneak around and do whatever he wanted.

Actively taking credit for things would probably just alert Dialga to his presence. He'd likely see Darkrai as a threat unless he promised to be Dialga's servant or something. And Darkrai couldn't have that—then he wouldn't have the freedom of movement he needed.

Still, he kept an eye on the temporal Pokémon. It was easy to get in and out of the Hidden Land now. With time broken down as it was, the entrance was weaker and easier to spot. It didn't need the keys or guides that it once had, and Darkrai could slip in and out unnoticed.

He had to say, Primal Dialga made for a wonderful enforcer. The unstable dragon and his underlings did a perfect job of terrifying the future's residents into submission. Darkrai could feed off the despair that Dialga sowed for him.

…It was a little unfortunate that he kept getting rid of his upper management so often, though. In his paranoia, Dialga tended to lash out and assume they were turning against him if they made the slightest mistake. Then, he'd have to spend some time looking for a new enforcer, which meant the Sableye would have less to do for a while. And _that_ meant there were short gaps when Darkrai had to put more effort into draining the general population himself.

He'd thought the last one had held such promise, too. Banette had been especially cruel and vindictive, and she'd basically let the Sableye do whatever they wanted. She'd often sent them out to terrorize random pockets of the population just for fun, and then Darkrai could swoop in and drop them all into nightmares when they were too weak to resist.

But then Dialga decided she was wasting time, and as such didn't care about protecting him (which was probably true on its own), and therefore was actively trying to bring him down. After he'd had the Sableye execute Banette, he'd sent them off in search of a new boss.

Darkrai carefully observed the Dusknoir they brought in. He seemed eager to follow orders; whether he actually agreed with Dialga or he just wanted something to _do_ didn't matter. Dialga evidently decided that his apparent 'loyalty' was good enough, and that was that.

Well, then. This should be good, Darkrai thought. If Dusknoir was so easy to order around, he should grow into the role well enough. And that hopefully meant he'd have a good, long tenure as Dialga's prime agent.

Though, admittedly, Darkrai intended to keep himself hidden for longer. He rarely showed himself to anyone with any level of power. Not because Darkrai didn't want it himself—no, a position of power would've been nice. It was more out of convenience than anything.

(Besides, he occasionally got spotted dropping Pokémon into nightmares, and Darkrai always enjoyed the looks of terror he got. As long as he could intimidate others into submission like that, they'd know who was _really_ in charge.)

But, still—once that little research team formed, Darkrai knew he was at risk. He couldn't let them get too far. As long as Dusknoir kept the Sableye on track, he'd be fine, but…Darkrai didn't want to push his luck.

Tracking them down was always hard, but his ability to hide in the shadows helped. Darkrai managed to catch a meeting or two, and it all went without notice. There was one in particular that was important—the human woman in charge announced where she wanted to search next, and Darkrai carefully took note of the location.

Dark Crater. He wouldn't dirty his hands directly, but…Darkrai could do something nonetheless. After making his way to the Hidden Land, he located Dusknoir and materialized in front of him.

"Excuse me, friend," he said. "I need a moment of your time."

Dusknoir's eye narrowed. "…Who are you, and how did you get here?"

"That's not important," Darkrai replied, waving a hand in some vague dismissive gesture. "All that matters is that I'm a friend, and I have information you may find necessary."

"Fine. I'm listening."

"There's a group looking to harm your precious Master Dialga. You've heard of the Time Gears, yes? Well, they're hot on the trail of one of them. Send your Sableye to Dark Crater. You'll thank me later."

Dusknoir folded his arms, still eyeing Darkrai warily. It was clear the Ghost-Type didn't completely trust him, but Darkrai doubted he wanted to take the risk, either. Finally, Dusknoir sighed and nodded.

"Well, I suppose it's worth looking into. I'll send a few out that way as soon as I can. But if I find you were lying to me…"

"Yes, yes, I understand. Shall I prove myself somehow? Give you more information as I find it?"

"Do as you wish." Dusknoir's eye narrowed again. "Just be aware that Master Dialga is not merciful when angered."

"I know, I know. Not to worry—I don't want to see this world altered in any way, and I'm sure you don't either. Disastrous consequences for both of us, and all that." Darkrai waved dismissively again. "Rest assured, I'll let you know if I come across anything else."

"Wait! What do you—"

It was too late for an answer, as Darkrai had already started melting into the shadows. He was gone before Dusknoir could finish. Darkrai wasn't sure if he didn't know what the 'consequences' were, or if Dusknoir simply wanted to know how he knew. Well, either way, Darkrai had been planning on stopping by one or two more times… Maybe feeding Dusknoir information (while letting him do most of the work) would be useful in the long run.

Yes…playing the part of a 'helpful' ally would have its benefits. Darkrai wasn't sure why he hadn't thought of it sooner.

He doubted he'd ever need to do it again if Dusknoir successfully took out the investigation team for him, but…maybe Darkrai would keep it in mind nonetheless.


	32. The Discovery

**Author's Note:** Parts of this were touched on in the main fic, but I thought it'd be interesting to more directly mention the stuff leading up to Crystal Crossing nonetheless. The Guild's side of that didn't really get covered, after all. Plus, more Ignored Epiphanies from Dusknoir's side; they're pretty much becoming his stock and trade in my verse.

* * *

**The Discovery**

It was honestly mind-boggling, but the situation was undeniably happening.

The scarred Meowth apprenticing at the Wigglytuff Guild was Claire. She was standing before him, completely unaware of their previous interaction or what Dusknoir's job really was. Somehow, she was no longer human—and that was the strangest part, even more than the apparent amnesia.

But she'd happily told him about her Dimensional Scream, none the wiser, and her Chimchar friend had fed Dusknoir her name. There was no way it was a coincidence.

He'd stared at her for a moment, a smile briefly crossing over his stomach as he mulled over the information. Dusknoir had Claire right there in his grasp! He could take care of her now and come back to search for Grovyle if he felt like it.

"Dusknoir, sir?"

Claire blinked, head tilted to the side in confusion, and he shook himself. Dusknoir couldn't stop now; that would be inefficient, and he didn't want to lose momentum.

"It's nothing," he said hastily. "Let's get you two back to the guild; you must be exhausted."

Their friends had gone back already, after all. Surely Cubone and Cacnea would get worried if they stayed out too long. Claire and Chimchar nodded, and they started walking away from the beach.

And then the Pelipper flew by, dropping the posters to the ground, and Dusknoir stopped to pick one up.

_Grovyle_. That was him. Claire's previous partner.

He had them both now.

* * *

Dusknoir had checked in with the guild often. Now that they had an idea of who to search for, it was all too easy to get their help in finding Grovyle. They eagerly cooperated with him, and Dusknoir had at first decided to send a few recruits out to hunt in specific places.

He knew where the Time Gears had been, after all. Master Dialga had sent him out to their previous locations to make sure they were gone. Dusknoir sent two groups—Team Shadow, and one led by Sunflora—out to the Northern Desert and Crystal Cave. With the guild's reputation, surely their apprentices were smart enough to find something.

(Still, he'd intentionally sent a third group out to Eastern Forest, even knowing they wouldn't find anything. If he sent them _all_ to the right places, that would look suspicious. They'd want to know how Dusknoir had known that, and he couldn't say anything yet. Soon, but not now.)

At any rate, their first trips had been failures. Why hadn't they found anything? Claire's group in particular; she should've been able to get far enough…

Ah, well; Dusknoir shook off his disappointment when Team Shadow came back the next day with good news. Well…mostly good news.

"So, er…" Claire winced. "Yeah. We found a Time Gear! And Grovyle, too! We just…"

"Well, we kinda got in a fight with Mesprit, so then Grovyle could take the Time Gear." Cacnea sighed. "So, I guess we screwed up after all."

The recruits chattered amongst themselves as Dusknoir considered this information. So, Grovyle had gotten his hands on another Time Gear. That was four, if all the news had been accurate. Grovyle only needed one more to finish his plans, and it'd be catastrophic if he got it.

However…Dusknoir had yet to hear about Azelf's Time Gear going missing. If they could bank on that, it might be possible to stop Grovyle in time after all. Yes; he had to go with that.

"Excuse me," he said, and the guild's crew turned their attention to him. "If I may suggest something? We may be able to find something in Crystal Cave after all."

"Hey, hey! That's true," Corphish agreed. "The other two places might still be good!"

"So, uh…how do you reckon we do that, Dusknoir, sir?" Bidoof asked.

"Well, I'm glad you said that, Bidoof." Dusknoir nodded. "Because you can help. Please, let Claire see that crystal you picked up yesterday. I believe she'll be able to tell us something if she can hold it for just a moment."

There was more chatter amongst the recruits. They were likely wondering what in the world Dusknoir was talking about, but Claire seemed to have picked up on the implication. She nodded as well as she looked over at Bidoof.

He'd been in the group headed to Crystal Cave, and he'd mentioned picking up a little souvenir. Dusknoir knew how to reach the lake, but he wanted Claire to find out for herself. And if the guild agreed to help again, then he wouldn't object to the reinforcements.

Eventually, Bidoof handed Claire the crystal, and she took a deep breath as she held onto it. She closed her eyes, and the meeting room fell silent. Then, Claire mewed in surprise as she raised a paw to her head. She dropped the crystal as she tensed up, and Bidoof quickly scrambled over to catch it. Finally, Claire opened her eyes, and she looked around the room.

"Uh…I know this is going to sound crazy, but…I think I just saw Grovyle fighting someone?" she said. "There was a Pokémon called Azelf, and they were near a lake, and he looked injured…"

"Oh my gosh! How did you see all that?" Sunflora exclaimed.

"Yeah…" Chimecho frowned. "And if that's true…we're not too late, are we?"

"Well…" Claire frowned as well. "Now that you mention it…I'm not sure if it's in the past or future."

Dusknoir raised a hand to silence them. "Well, if we consider the places we've heard of so far…none of them were inhabited by someone called Azelf, correct? We may still have time. So, Wigglytuff, Chatot—with your permission, I'd like to send everyone out to Crystal Cave again."

"Yep, that's a great idea, friendly friend!" Wigglytuff agreed. "All right, everyone! Let's rest up and head out for Crystal Cave first thing tomorrow!"

"_YEAH_!" everyone shouted.

A deeper smirk crossed Dusknoir's stomach as the recruits dispersed. He had them deep within his grasp now—and they could catch Grovyle for him, if he played his hand right. Of course, Dusknoir would have to double-check and make sure everything went according to plan. He couldn't afford to take it _too_ easy.

But the irony of the situation was not lost on him. Claire was helping him capture her former friend, and she had no idea what she was doing. And, if Dusknoir was especially lucky, they might end up eliminating each other at the lake.

…There was a small part of him that said the latter hope was too cruel. But, as Dusknoir left the guild, he decided to brush it aside.

No, he needed to make sure that he (and everyone else) survived. And Dusknoir would do anything it took to ensure that happened. He'd gone too far now—it was too late for him to turn back.

No more doubts—not anymore.


	33. Brine Cave

**Author's Note:** The early parts of Brine Cave didn't really get covered in the main fic, so I figured I could write it out here. There are some minor differences from canon here, what with everyone coming along, therefore having to split the party, and thus slightly altering Team Skull's appearance. Good stuff to establish here.

* * *

**Brine Cave**

Claire was admittedly nervous as they made their way through Brine Cave. The dungeon itself wasn't too bad, but she couldn't stop thinking about the supposedly-vicious Pokémon Chatot had mentioned. She knew worrying wouldn't help, but not knowing what the Pokémon even _were_ was scary in its own way.

Well, at least Chatot was handling himself well, Claire thought. Maybe that meant he'd be fine when they encountered the…whatever the Pokémon were. Even Felix was doing okay, despite the Type disadvantage he had against most of the cave's residents. He'd been compensating with Thunder Punch as often as he could, and Claire had assisted with Thunderbolt. She could only hope that Rin, Iris, and Bruce were fine, too.

When they reached a point fairly deep in the dungeon, Chatot allowed them to take a break. Claire sighed in relief as she sat down and dug through her bag. She had a couple of berries and apples in her bag, and she really needed the energy. Felix smiled and sat down beside her, pulling an Oran Berry out of his own bag.

"Oh, hey! There you guys are!"

Claire blinked when she heard Iris's voice. She'd just arrived in the small chamber with Rin and Bruce in tow. She swallowed the last bite of her apple before tossing the core aside, and then Claire stood up to meet them.

"Hey, yourself," she replied, grinning. "Have you guys been doing okay?"

"Well…for the most part, yes." Rin frowned. "You haven't seen Team Skull, have you?"

"Team Skull?" Chatot repeated, blinking. "Our allies from the expedition? Why would they be here?"

Rin, Bruce, and Iris exchanged glances. Claire blinked as well; of course, she knew that calling Team Skull 'allies' was extremely charitable, but she wondered what they were thinking about. Fortunately, Bruce spoke up a second later.

"Um, I guess that's a no, then," he replied. "Well, we ran into them a little while ago, and…they were looking for Felix? They said something about wanting to take his Relic Fragment."

"W-what?" Felix sputtered. "But we need that! We can't get to the Hidden Land without it."

"Yeah, we tried to tell them that, but…" Iris frowned, crossing her arms. "They just got mad and said we were trying to confuse them. Since, you know, we had to split groups. Zubat just kept insisting we'd split up to make you harder to find."

Chatot waved a wing dismissively at her. "Please, Cacnea! Team Skull would never do anything like that. You must be mistaken!"

"Not this again," Iris grumbled.

"Well…if you haven't seen them yet…" Rin went on, probably trying to divert Iris's attention. "…maybe they got ahead of us? If we run into them again, then we can find out."

"Yeah…" Claire frowned. "Well, if everyone's ready, then I guess we should get going?"

Everyone nodded, and they all broke into the proper groups again. Claire couldn't help getting more nervous as they went along. Why would Team Skull be so determined to take the Relic Fragment that they'd chase them all the way here? Sure, they'd tried to steal it once before, but that had been a long time ago.

Unless…had they somehow found out how valuable it was? But that didn't make sense, either. Why would they take it in that case? Didn't they know the world was in danger, and they couldn't fix things without it? Unless they didn't know _why_ Team Shadow was going to the Hidden Land, but…

Claire shook her head. Her thoughts had carried her a good way through the lower part of Brine Cave. They'd encountered a few more of the cave's inhabitants, and she couldn't get distracted now.

Finally, they arrived in a long, wide hallway that was dark at the far end. Claire glanced over at Chatot; he seemed more on edge now. Maybe the part with the "vicious bandits" was coming up soon?

"Wait, do you see something up there?" Felix asked, pointing at something in the distance.

Claire squinted. "Yeah, I…think so?"

There were three vague silhouettes ahead of them, and everyone advanced cautiously. Finally, the shapes became clear; the three members of Team Skull were sprawled out awkwardly on the ground. They were all soaking wet and covered in deep gashes, and Claire gasped as she looked them over.

"Hey…you wimps…" Skuntank wheezed. "It's you Team Shadow losers…isn't it?"

"Y-yeah…what about it?" Felix asked nervously. "And…what happened?"

"What…do you think, idiot?" Skuntank paused, coughing out some water before going on. "We got wrecked by those morons up ahead…chaw-haw… They really tore us a new one."

Chatot squawked. "Those bandits did that to you? And why are you talking like this now? What happened to your polite attitudes?!"

"We _tried_ to tell you, Chatot!" Iris protested. "Still, we probably should've warned them. Even if they were probably waiting here for Felix…"

"So you wimps knew about that, huh?" Koffing groaned. "Yeah…sure would've been nice…before you let us run off like that."

"Are you going to be okay?" Claire asked uncertainly. "We can try to heal you up a bit if you want…"

Zubat weakly shook her head. "I doubt there's much you can do…heh… Besides…we're not gonna take pity from you now!"

Claire bit her lip. "But…"

"Hey…shut up a minute, cat." Skuntank coughed again before looking at Rin and Felix. "Listen…bonehead…and you, the biggest wimp…I gotta tell you…you two in particular better be careful up there."

Felix and Rin exchanged glances before nervously looking back at him.

"Um…thanks, I guess?" Felix blinked. "But, still…you need to…"

"We're gonna get out of here if we need to crawl," Skuntank growled. "So that means you all better survive, too! 'Cause if not…us getting beat up like that…it ain't gonna be worth it, you hear? So get out of here! Go on! Chaw-haw!"

Was that…encouragement? It almost sounded like encouragement. Claire felt bad about leaving them behind, but…they did need to go. And she was kind of impressed that Skuntank seemed concerned. She nodded, looking at all of her teammates before going on.

"Right! You guys be careful. We're going on ahead! Okay, everyone?"

They nodded in return, though Claire couldn't help but notice the glare on Chatot's face. He hopped towards Team Skull, and Claire's jaw dropped when he started yelling at them.

"You absolute _fools_! You can't sit here and tell us to be careful after getting yourselves into danger like that!" he squawked. "If you had just listened to our apprentices earlier, you could've left without getting into this mess. But, fine—if you wish for us to leave you here, we will! Everyone! Hurry up!"

With that, Chatot fluttered away towards the chamber up ahead. Team Shadow stared at him for a few seconds, dumbfounded. Claire knew he had a problem with being proved wrong, but…it still seemed harsh. However, if those bandits were up ahead, they couldn't let Chatot take them on alone, either.

Claire swallowed, waved at her teammates, and darted on ahead. She gave one last glance at Team Skull as they ran. She really did hope they got out safely, but she couldn't stop now.

Finally, they caught up with Chatot. He was perched in the middle of the chamber, trembling slightly and shaking his head. There was something _wrong_ here; Claire could tell. She nervously squeezed the strap of her bag as she looked around the room. Where were—

"They're…above us!"

Claire yelped at Chatot's cry, and the next thing she knew, a massive tidal wave had dropped down from seemingly nowhere.


	34. A New Home

**Author's Note:** More Dusknoir stuff; I figured it'd be nice to work out exactly how he came to work for Dialga. And, hey, Missy's POV! That's a new thing!

* * *

**A New Home**

Missy wasn't sure exactly how long it was since her mother died that the Sableye approached her father, but she thought it had been a little while.

She'd seen packs of Sableye every now and then. They really were easy to spot. Still, she'd never seen them so close before, and Missy listened intently to the conversation. She floated behind a tree nearby, just far enough away that her father wouldn't notice her eavesdropping, but close enough that she could hear them.

"Hey, uh…you look pretty strong, wheh-heh," one of the Sableye commented as he looked over the larger ghost.

Dusknoir paused for a long while before quietly replying, "I'm not very strong at all. Do you want something?"

"Well, uh…" The first Sableye glanced at one of his companions, awkwardly scratching his neck before looking back at Dusknoir. "Our last boss got…_fired_, wheh-heh. So _her_ boss wants us to look for a new one. See?"

"This has nothing to do with me."

"Wheh…I guess not." Another Sableye shrugged. "Too bad. Master Dialga's gonna be mad at us again, wheh-heh…"

A third one sighed. "Yeah…well, you know, if you know anyone who wants to help…can you tell them about us? Wheh-heh-heh…"

Dusknoir shrugged. "I suppose so."

The first Sableye hung his head before turning around. "Right. Thanks, I guess…wheh… Man, right when I thought we found someone good enough…"

Dusknoir watched them go, but then he suddenly halted them. "Wait. Perhaps…if you could tell me more, then…?"

Missy blinked. Why the change of heart? She was curious, too. The Sableye had been incredibly vague; she was surprised they'd expected anyone to help based on that information. Besides, her father hadn't shown interest in much of _anything_ ever since they'd lost her mother.

"Wheh?" One of the Sableye shrugged. "Okay, uh…Master Dialga says we're keeping him safe. And keeping the world safe, too."

Dusknoir's eye narrowed at the latter comment. "Well, you're not doing a very good job of that."

"Eek…hey…you don't gotta be so rude about it, wheh-heh," one of them grumbled. "Master Dialga says thing would get even _worse_ if anything happened to him, you know…"

"…What does that mean?"

Sableye shrugged. "We're not completely sure, but…he says if things change…everybody's gonna be in even more danger. So we gotta make sure that nobody hurts him. Wheh-heh."

Dusknoir paused again, apparently considering this information. Missy wondered what they meant by that, too. Surely things couldn't get worse than they already were, right? That Metang had killed her mother simply for getting too close to him, after all. What could be worse than Pokémon doing things like that?

But if it was true, she didn't want to think about what this 'even worse' thing could be. The only way to find out would be to ask this 'Master Dialga' Pokémon, though. If the Sableye didn't know all of the details, they'd have to hear it directly from him.

Finally, Dusknoir replied, "I…guess it's worth looking into… If we're doing what's best in the long run, I'd like to find out more."

Well, he had spoken of 'protecting her' more and more often lately. Missy supposed it made sense that he'd want to do something he thought was helpful… Charging in on this little information could be risky, though. But…if he really was desperate enough…

"Missy?" he called, and she dutifully floated over to him. Dusknoir smiled and reached out for her as he went on, "Would you like to have something to do? We may have somewhere new to go. Will you come with me and find out?"

Like she could really say no to that. What exactly was she supposed to do by herself otherwise? Missy just nodded quietly in response. Then, Dusknoir turned back to the group of Sableye.

"All right. I suppose I can meet with your Master Dialga, then. You're…sure we'll be helping everyone if we do this?"

"Yeah, wheh-heh! That's the part we're sure on," one of them replied. "Master Dialga says that all the time. Well…sort of…he's kinda hard to understand sometimes. But we know that's what he means!"

Dusknoir nodded. "Shall we go, then? I'd like to learn more as soon as I can."

The Sableye cheered and started leading them in the right direction. Missy trailed along slightly behind Dusknoir, carefully watching him. She knew he'd been desperate for something to do; he'd spoken occasionally of some kind of _longing_ that she didn't entirely understand. It was something he'd never quite been able to articulate, but it was a feeling he needed to satisfy nonetheless.

Missy could only hope that this claim of being 'helpful' was an accurate one. She glanced at her father again and frowned. His desperate desire to keep her safe was genuine, she knew. If that extended to this 'Master Dialga' Pokémon as well…how much further would he push it?

Deep down, Missy really didn't want to leave Dusknoir behind; he was all she had left. And she really did hope that whatever this was would make him happy.

Still, she couldn't help an odd nagging feeling about the whole situation, like everything was about to change drastically. How, she wasn't sure, but Missy could only hope that it wasn't going to be for the worse.


	35. In The End

**Author's Note:** Oops, I wrote another depressing one. I figured that if I went to the trouble of introducing Claire's dad (back in the 26th one of these) that I should explain what happened to him. Also, I feel kind of bad for killing off Jack's mom immediately after including her, but I figured this was one of the best places to mention her.

* * *

**In the End**

It had started out as a simple supply run, but Jameson should've known that nothing was ever that easy here.

He and Michelle had a place to stay for a while. Jirachi and his friend Celebi really had been kind to them. After leaving Star Cave, Celebi had shown them a few other safe places to hide, and he and Michelle had set up a home not too far from one of Celebi's favorite forests.

For a while, things had been almost normal. Happy, even. Michelle's partner, Blitz the Persian, had met a kindly Arcanine shortly after they'd settled down, and the two of them eventually had a son. Soon after that, Jameson and Michelle had children of their own—a pair of twins. They'd both been ecstatic, though Michelle especially had been.

It didn't last for long, though.

Jameson had offered to go out and look for food. Knowing it would be unsafe for a lone human, Riley (Blitz's mate) had offered to come with him. He'd gladly accepted her offer, and they said goodbye to the others with the promise to return soon.

They made their way towards a nearby cave. A few scraggly bushes outside had a surprisingly decent selection of berries, and there were even a handful of them that weren't half-wilted. Jameson gathered as many of them as he could into his basket, nodding as he turned to Riley.

"This is a decent amount, but I think we should look for more," he said. "We'll need enough to last a while, you know."

The Arcanine barked out something Jameson couldn't understand, but she nodded as well. It was an agreement, at any rate. She glanced towards the cave before looking back at him, and Jameson followed her as she ducked through its entrance.

That really was something bizarre, Jameson thought. Dungeons still randomly changed here as they had before, and that variance still led to an assortment of items appearing in them. The fact that fresh (well, _mostly_-fresh) food appeared along with them was…not something he'd complain about, but it was weird nonetheless.

Anyway, they went deeper into the cave, and Riley spotted a few seeds and apples strewn across the floor. Jameson picked them all up, and, once the basket was full, he caught Riley's attention.

"This should do for now," he commented. "We should get back before Michelle and Blitz start to worry."

She nodded, and the two of them turned around to leave. They managed to get back outside safely, which Jameson was grateful for. So far, they hadn't run into a single wild Pokémon. It almost felt _too_ lucky—but Jameson wasn't going to push his luck by questioning it.

That changed once they'd gotten a fair distance away from the cave.

It happened almost without warning. They passed a small alcove in a cliff wall, and Jameson heard a light growl and fluttering of wings. Then, he'd been knocked to the ground, and there was an ear-splitting screech above him. The basket of food had tumbled to the ground, strewing its contents everywhere, and Jameson struggled to raise his arms over his face.

There was an Aerodactyl on top of him, he dimly noticed. She snarled, snapping her jaws downward, and Jameson howled in pain as she bit down on his arms. Riley roared, flames cloaking her jaw, and she clamped down on the Aerodactyl's wings with a Fire Fang.

It worked, mostly—the Aerodactyl screeched again as her attention turned to the large Fire-Type. She was still sitting on top of Jameson, and he hissed in pain as her claws dug across his stomach, but the pain in his arms had reduced to a dull throb. They were still bloody, but with Aerodactyl's attention focused on Riley, he might be able to get out from under her.

He weakly rolled over, and Aerodactyl stumbled as Jameson managed to crawl away from her. Riley took the opportunity to go for another Fire Fang, and she ripped into Aerodactyl's wing hard enough that she wouldn't be able to chase them. Jameson heaved a sigh of relief as he looked over at Riley. She was battered as well—it looked like the Aerodactyl had gotten several good bites in on her—but they should be able to get back if they were careful.

"Thanks," he wheezed as he tried to gather up a bit of the food. "We should—"

There was another screech nearby, and Jameson's eyes widened. There were more Aerodactyl, and they were rapidly diving towards them. Riley crouched down, allowing Jameson to climb up on her back, and he tightly held onto her as she started sprinting away.

She was too weak to outrun them forever, though, and Jameson realized they wouldn't get back before the Aerodactyl caught up with them.

* * *

The sight was one Michelle would keep with her for a while.

Riley stumbled back to camp with a limp Jameson on her back, and she was ragged and bloody. She stared at Michelle, wide-eyed and breathing heavily, before collapsing to the ground.

"Aerodactyl," she panted. "There were…too many—"

Then her eyes had rolled back in her head, and she'd fallen partially on top of Jameson. Even before looking at him, Michelle knew he'd been dead before they'd even gotten there, and seeing his bloody, tattered clothes had only served to confirm that.

She was vaguely aware of her pained wail, followed by Blitz coming over to check on her, and Michelle could only be glad that Andrew, Claire, and Jack were too young to have solid memories of their now-deceased parents.


	36. Measuring Time

**Author's Note:** Here's something a little more lighthearted this time to make up for the last one. This is mostly just me trying to figure out how the heck the future universe even works, so headcanons ahoy!

* * *

**Measuring Time**

"You know, Celebi," Claire said, "how is it that you're able to guess at these 'year' things, anyway?"

"Well, you know…" Celebi shrugged. "It's more of a…vague sense of sorts. I guess it's kind of like that feeling you get when someone's following you, you know?"

Claire frowned. "Yeah, but…years are time, right? So if we don't have time, how can we have years?"

Celebi frowned as well as she thought it over. She and Claire, along with Leaf, Andrew, and Jirachi, were all in their current cave dwelling, and Claire had sprung the question somewhat randomly. It was something she'd been wondering about for a while, really, but she'd never gotten around to asking until now.

Finally, Celebi responded, "Well, they say our 'dear' Primal Dialga controls time. So while he's _completely nuts_, time must work to some degree if he's still _alive_."

"I guess you have a point," Jirachi mused. "But still, how would you go about _measuring_ that, anyway?"

Leaf and Andrew nodded, and Celebi fell quiet again for a little while. Eventually, she shrugged and went on.

"You know, my parents told me once that 'years' still work, just about. It's mostly _'days'_ that are messed up. So it's harder to tell that 'years' are passing, but they still _are_. It's like…like…" Celebi sighed in frustration. "Oh, Jirachi, dear, you've actually _seen_ time! Help me out."

"Well, yes, but it's still different now than it used to be." Jirachi frowned. "But…well…hmm. You know, what we have, they used to call 'nighttime.' 'Daytime' was when the sun was out, and there was more light, and you could see things better. When Temporal Tower collapsed, we got stuck with night."

Claire hummed as she mulled over that information. "You know…if we have 'night,' I wonder if there's anyone who has 'daytime' instead! Do you think that's what 'days don't work' actually means? Like, we travel a whole lot, but we haven't seen the _entire_ world! So you never know."

"I've actually heard that there's a 'light side' and a 'dark side'," Celebi replied, nodding. "Of course, I don't know how true this is. Now, there's not anyone left who might've seen this 'light side'—at least, no one who's come back from it."

Huh. Claire blinked; was her random guess actually right? Of course, even then, she wasn't entirely sure what that would mean for them. If there was such a thing as a 'light side,' it would be light forever, just like she saw darkness forever. Would it really be much better?

Well, just sitting around and thinking about it wouldn't answer her questions. She'd have to see it to be sure, and it would probably be way too dangerous to actually find out. Eventually, she just shrugged.

"I guess it'd be kinda interesting if it was true," she said. "But that would still need to be fixed, too. So if we can fix this, then that'd be fixed too, right?"

Andrew shrugged as well. "Yeah, I guess so. And, either way…as long as we still have _some_ kind of time, I guess it doesn't matter how you measure it."

"Very true!" Celebi agreed. "Now, I wonder where Michelle and Blitz got off to—"

"We're here, Celebi."

Michelle's voice floated towards them; she'd just ducked into the small cave. Blitz was close behind her, along with Jack. The two Pokémon had large bundles of sticks strapped to their backs, and Michelle was carrying a basket full of food.

"Firewood," she explained. "It took a little longer to gather than I thought. And it's not a whole lot, but I did manage to find some food."

"Oh, very nice," Celebi said with a grin. "Should we start preparing the food, then?"

Everyone nodded, and Claire went to help Blitz and Jack arrange the wood into a circle. A fire would be nice, anyway, even if they didn't need it to cook. It always got so cold otherwise—something that Jirachi had said usually happened at nighttime.

Well, she could wonder more about it later. Everyone's guesses all made sense anyway. Besides, Claire was hungry, so she wasn't too concerned about the details. Her curiosity had been satisfied for now, and they had other things to do.


	37. Mundane Utility

**Author's Note:** This was initially intended to be the final side story, so I wanted to have something that was both mostly lighthearted and provided a few bits of world building. While I've got a couple more now, I figured I'd go ahead and post this now anyway.

* * *

**Mundane Utility**

"Hey, Dialga…" Claire said. "I have a question for you."

He blinked down at her. "Yes?"

It hadn't been too long since Claire had come to visit the future—or the present, really, if she thought about it. This was her original world, after all. At any rate, Dusknoir had taken her (along with Leaf and Celebi) to visit Temporal Tower so she could see how much it had been fixed up. Dialga had greeted her upon their arrival at the summit, and, after a brief conversation, an idea had struck her.

"Can you tell how long everything was…well, like it was?" she asked. "You know…paralyzed."

He tilted his head to the side as he thought it over, but then he nodded. Claire supposed it was kind of an odd question, or at least a sudden one. At any rate, Dialga was willing to figure it out. He closed his eyes, and the gem on his chest plate faintly glowed. There was a quiet ticking sound for a few seconds, and then Dialga nodded again.

"About three hundred years," he replied. "To be honest, it's something I'd wondered about as well. I suppose I could've checked before, but it hadn't occurred to me. Most of it simply…blurred together."

Well, that had taken an…awkward turn. Though to be fair, Dialga hadn't meant it in a depressing way; his answer had been more matter-of-fact. Claire shrugged as she thought about it, and then another idea occurred to her.

"Ooh, I just thought of something," she said eagerly. "Could you also tell how old we all are? Celebi's made guesses about how old I am before, but she's never really been sure about it."

Dialga blinked again. "You would ask for something so…mundane? Well, it's within my power to find out, but…"

He shrugged before closing his eyes again. His gem glowed, and the ticking noise started up. Finally, Dialga opened his eyes and looked down at her.

"Seventeen years," he commented. "Nearly eighteen. Most humans consider that to be an adult, from what I've heard."

"So, I'm almost an adult, huh," Claire mused. That applied to Andrew, too, then. And that, in turn, got her curious about everyone else. "Oh, how about everyone else? Leaf and Celebi and even Dusknoir!"

The three of them blinked at her before turning to each other and shrugging. Claire knew it wasn't a big deal, but she wanted to know anyway. And if Dialga didn't mind answering, then why not? He nodded again before looking at Leaf, and, after a few seconds, Dialga spoke up again.

"Sixteen," he answered. "Slightly younger in plain numbers, but a bit more mature by Grovyle standards."

"Interesting," Leaf mused. "I guess I _have_ been curious about that…"

"So, you're younger than me, huh?" Claire grinned. "It's like you're my little brother or something, then! That's kinda cute."

"H-hey!" Leaf sputtered. "What did you say? I'm not…"

"You _do_ have your cute moments, you know," Celebi teased. "Like how flustered you are right now!"

Leaf just huffed and looked away from everyone. Celebi had a point, Claire thought with a giggle. Before anyone else could speak up, though, Dialga had finished processing Celebi's age.

"And you are…approximately a hundred and twelve," he said, nodding to her.

"Wow, really?" Claire blinked. "You're _that_ old, Celebi?"

"I am _not_ old!" Now it was Celebi's turn to get huffy. "I'll have you know that my species can live for several hundred years, or so I've been told. Sometimes even up to a thousand! So that's actually pretty young."

"Indeed," Dialga agreed. "And to me, you all are practically _infants_. Now, let me see…" He looked at Dusknoir, paused, and then said, "Forty-eight. Fairly young for your species, as well."

"Hm." Dusknoir nodded. "Interesting. Maybe next time I'll bring Missy along—I'm curious about her age, as well."

Generally, the Misdreavus stayed at Temporal Tower, just like Dusknoir did. Today, she'd gone on a trip with the Sableye, though. Dialga had apparently spent the weeks following time's restoration creating a new set of Time Gears, and the Sableye were in charge of setting them out in appropriate places. And since Dusknoir was there with the others, Missy had gone along to supervise them.

"Yeah, I guess I am, too!" Claire nodded. Then, she looked up at Dialga and added, "Thanks, by the way."

Dialga laughed and shook his head. "It's no problem. Even if it was something so simple…I'm glad I could be of help."

"Besides!" Celebi chirped. "It's nice to see you in such good spirits, Dialga, dear. We should have little chats like this with you more often."

He snorted in amusement. "Well, if that's what you would like…I suppose I can oblige."

Yeah, Claire thought when it finally came time to leave. This had been fun, and it really was nice to see a more casual side of Dialga, too. After how much he'd suffered—and for so long—he deserved to relax just as much as anyone else did.

Mundane as it may have been, it was another sign of how much better things were now, and Claire decided she'd appreciate every little improvement she got to see.


	38. Doubts

**Author's Note:** This is something catflowerqueen brought up to me a while back, in that Lapras a) probably would've felt guilty about bringing Darkrai to the Hidden Land, and b) may have brought that up to Wigglytuff, depending on when, exactly, everything went down. So here's my attempt at working out a few timeline details.

* * *

**Doubts**

"Lapras! I'm glad to see you."

Wigglytuff had arrived in the far chamber of Brine Cave a little while ago. To his luck, Lapras showed up not too long afterwards. Fortunate, as he didn't know how he would've contacted the Water-Type otherwise.

Lapras smiled and nodded as he replied. "Yes, same to you, Wigglytuff. It's been a while… How have you been?"

"Fine, fine!" Wigglytuff sang as he nodded in return. However, the cheeriness suddenly dropped as he went on. "But…there's something I need to talk to you about."

"I get the feeling you're not here to catch up for old time's sake." Lapras tilted his head to the side curiously. "Well, then…what is it, old friend?"

Wigglytuff paused, glancing around hastily. He'd managed to fight off those bandits again, so he doubted they'd hear this conversation, but…he wanted to make sure none of the cave's other residents were nearby. Fortunately, he and Lapras seemed to be alone, but Wigglytuff still spoke in hushed tones once he was sure.

"Well…I'm sure you've noticed how weird everything's been lately, right?"

Lapras blinked. "You don't mean…how time's been flowing unevenly lately, do you? I've heard some news even down here, but…I'd hoped they were mere rumors."

Wigglytuff sighed. "No, they're all true, friendly-friend. And…some of my recruits think they can fix it. They already know about the Hidden Land somehow, but…I'm still going to have to tell them about you. How else will they get there?"

Lapras was silent for a long while, and Wigglytuff hoped he hadn't offended the transporter in some way. He'd truly hoped he'd be able to keep Lapras's presence a secret, but Team Shadow would need him. And if Lapras had heard the news, then surely he realized how dire the situation was, right?

Finally, Lapras spoke up, and Wigglytuff was startled at the deadly-serious tone of his voice.

"Wigglytuff, I'd like to think that you're a trustworthy Pokémon, but I must tell you… The last time I took a Pokémon to the Hidden Land, I believe he was the one responsible for what's going on now."

"What?" Wigglytuff's eyes widened. "But that's terrible! Are you sure? When was it?"

"It was after I met you." Lapras's voice was still that scary kind of too-even, and it was unnerving to listen to. "However, given the context of my meetings with you and him, I chose to believe that the incidents were unrelated. But if you're bringing more Pokémon here now…"

Wigglytuff hunched over slightly as he rapidly shook his head. "No, no, of course not! I promised, Lapras! I didn't break my promise back then. My apprentices are all good Pokémon, and…Team Shadow…they know about the Time Gears. They know what they're supposed to do with them. Does that convince you?"

Lapras's eyes widened at the news. So he knew what Meowth and Chimchar were talking about, then. He nodded slowly, and Wigglytuff felt himself relaxing. That confirmed not only that Team Shadow were telling the truth, but also that Lapras believed him.

"The Time Gears…yes, Dialga did mention what they were supposed to do," Lapras murmured. "So if they're going to take them to the tower…they must be trying to help. All right—who should I be waiting for, then?"

Wigglytuff sighed in relief. "Yay—I'm glad you understand, friendly-friend! Meowth's the one in charge, but she should be bringing the rest of her team along, too. So Chimchar, Cubone, Cacnea, and Glameow will be down here, too." He paused before adding, "Oh, and I need to find Grovyle, too! So that's it, then. It should be in the next day or two at the most."

Lapras nodded. "All right, then. I'll trust your judgment, Wigglytuff. And…I'll be waiting for them."

"Thank you, Lapras! And…again…I'm sorry."

"It's nothing, friend; if things are as bad as I've heard they are…we do need them to try, after all."

With that, Lapras turned around and swam out of the area, and Wigglytuff sighed again. That had been both better and worse than he'd expected, somehow…but at least it was all cleared up now. He'd done what he could for Team Shadow—so now he'd have to leave things to them and hope for the best.


	39. Cravings

**Author's Note:** This is another one we can thank catflowerqueen for, since this spawned from a tumblr prompt where she requested I write about Andrew craving something. I decided to include it here, since Andrew could always use more page-time, and him getting more interactions with Celebi is good, too.

* * *

**Cravings**

It wasn't until recently that he understood what cravings were.

There were things Andrew enjoyed, of course, but he didn't think those counted as _'cravings'_. He'd played along with Claire's games of gathering up sticks and rocks to build things with, and helped sort all of Jirachi's old relics and maps, and sometimes even play-fought with Jack and Leaf. But now he knew those were just random old things he liked doing; they weren't things he _'craved'_.

The first time he had a fresh Apple, the day after time had been restored, was the first time Andrew really started to crave something.

He'd been with Jirachi when it had happened, and the two of them had been filled in on what happened when Celebi found them a few…hours?…later. Admittedly, disappearing had been half terrifying and half relieving; it took Andrew a second to realize what was happening, but he'd figured it meant Claire had been successful. Reappearing had been even more bizarre, even with Celebi's explanation, but he wasn't going to complain.

At any rate, they'd still had some of their old food left at the time, and thus hadn't bothered to look for any more. Then, he and Celebi went out to gather more the next morning, and the difference was immediately obvious.

Celebi, eager as she usually was, immediately chomped down on the apple she picked, and her eyes widened as she swallowed it. Then, she proceeded to gobble down the entire fruit, turning to look at Andrew with an expression of pure wonder on her face. (He also suspected that if her wings fluttered any harder, they'd fall off—but she didn't give him the chance to make some dry remark on the matter.)

"Andrew, dear, you _have_ to try one of these!" she chirped.

"…I've had apples before, Celebi," he replied, raising an eyebrow. "I know what they taste like."

"No, no, they're _different_ now! Just do it."

"Fine, I'll try one."

Sighing, he set down his basket, reached for the nearest tree branch, and plucked an apple. It was a slightly brighter red than he was used to seeing, Andrew silently admitted. Hoping that was a sign of good things to come, he proceeded to bite into it.

The apple was…noticeably sweeter, he thought. A little bit juicier, too, and somehow crisper at the same time. Without even thinking about it, Andrew ate the rest of it in record time, and immediately reached up for another one. Celebi giggled, and he promptly lowered his arm and mustered up as indignant a look as he could manage.

"You're quite adorable when you're embarrassed, you know," she teased. "Anyway! Don't you see what I mean?"

"You must be imagining things. But, yes, you have a point."

She laughed again and hovered up to a higher branch, gathering some more apples. "Whatever you say, Andrew! I suppose we should pick a few more, though. And we should hurry back before we eat them all, yes?"

Andrew rolled his eyes. "I'm not going to eat all of them, Celebi. I should be telling _you_ that."

"Sure, sure!"

Still, he kept eyeing the apples on their way out of the forest. While they'd started building a hut with Jirachi earlier, they hadn't finished it yet, and thus didn't have a good place to store food. Thus, it would be tempting to eat them all before they dried out. Andrew _would_ have to be careful, even if he refused to admit it aloud.

…And, even later, he kept finding himself drawn to apples whenever they had any. Andrew heavily suspected Celebi would never let him hear the end of it if not for her own addiction to them, which he silently counted himself grateful for.


	40. Sky Peak

**Author's Note:** Well, we've reached the point where this is the last side story I've got planned. I won't rule out adding more at some point, but it won't be on nearly as regular a basis as it has been if so. At any rate, while I actually wrote this one before the last one, I decided to post them in this order so we could close out with Bruce. He deserves to carry us out, I think. (And, yet again, this is another one we can at least partly thank catflowerqueen for, since I believe she mentioned to me that Bruce getting to explore Sky Peak would be nice.)

* * *

**Sky Peak**

He felt silly about it, but Bruce couldn't keep the huge grin off his face when everyone arrived back at Sky Peak's base.

Even with that little hiccup at the end (having to fight off those Grimer and Muk), the trip had been incredible. The dungeons on the way up to the peak had all been fairly short and simple, and he'd been grateful to have the chance to explore with everyone again. Of course, Claire and Felix had taken him along when they'd explored Blizzard Island, but it was still nice to have the whole team back in action again.

(And here, Rin and Iris had come along, too—they weren't breaking any exploration rules if the two of them were technically their own group, Iris insisted. She and Rin just so happened to be exploring the same place, was all.)

And, of course, the view from the top of the mountain had been amazing once the offending Poison-Types had been chased off, too. Bruce didn't think there could've been a better end to the whole thing, really. Since Shaymin had been exhausted from carrying everyone back down the mountain—and she still had to go back to the peak and get Team Frontier—everyone had a few minutes to reflect on the trip.

"Bruce, your scarf's even brighter than usual." Claire giggled as she looked over at the Glameow. "I guess that means you really liked coming along, huh?"

Bruce grinned sheepishly as he glanced down at his scarf. Despite the fact that they weren't official guild members anymore, they'd been unable to shake the habit of wearing the scarves Wigglytuff had given them way back when. His own was pink, and it seemed to have an almost shimmering quality to it today. If these things could really read his aura, Bruce supposed it made sense that it'd react slightly to his emotions.

"Yeah," he agreed. "Can you blame me, though? This trip was really fun, and I hope we get the chance to come back here sometime."

Felix nodded. "Yeah, so do I. Having big adventures like this together is nice… Even if we go somewhere else, we'll have to plan something like this again."

Rin and Iris nodded in agreement, and Iris was about to speak up when Shaymin finally arrived back in the clearing. She sighed in relief as Team Frontier settled back on the ground, and she slowly reverted back to her regular form. Machoke waved for everyone's attention, and they all gathered around him as he spoke up.

"All right, everyone! What do you say we gather back at Spinda's Café and celebrate this trip?"

"_YEAH_!" all of the explorers shouted.

There were calls of "Bye, Shaymin!", "Come back anytime!", and "Thank you!" as everyone turned to leave. Bruce took one more look at Sky Peak before following the rest of his team down the mountain trail.

Yeah…the trip really had been unforgettable, cheesy as it was to think, and he wouldn't have traded it for anything.


End file.
